It looks like Aoyama Gakuin’s Kaito Shimomura(しもむら かいと), who was selected by Hanshin as their first-round pick in today’s “Professional Baseball Draft Meeting supported by Lipovitan D,” is from Nishinomiya.
（Information provided by Takuma. Thank you！)
From 青学大・下村、意中の阪神から一本釣りに「頭が真っ白」 西宮出身、甲子園までチャリ圏内「関西魂で頑張る」（THE ANSWER） – Yahoo!ニュース
Quoting from the source:
“I’m from Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture myself. I’ve watched Hanshin since I was little, so I was happy.” He has been a true Tigers fan ever since he started playing baseball. Koshien Stadium is close enough to his home to get there by bicycle, and he says he has been going there since he was small. As for the player he admired, he said, “He wasn’t a pitcher, but Kanemoto. His home runs were cool.” “Since I’m from Nishinomiya, I’ll do my best with Kansai spirit,” he said, already picturing himself in the pinstriped uniform.
That’s what it says.
He was born on March 27, 2002, and apparently has a fastball that tops out at 155 km/h, plus excellent command and precision with breaking balls like cutters and sliders. He was selected for the Japan-USA Collegiate Baseball Championship and even won the tournament MVP, apparently. That’s seriously amazing, isn’t it?
He originally started playing baseball with the Koubu Lions when he was in third grade at Nishinomiya Municipal Hinokuchi Elementary School, and during his time at Koubu Junior High School, he played for the Takarazuka Boys（which Masahiro Tanaka also came from）. Apparently he had said he wanted to go to Hanshin, which is just too perfect!
His favorite food is apparently ramen, so maybe he’s had Miyakko Ramen before.
In Closing
When you think of Hanshin players from Nishinomiya, Teruaki Sato comes to mind, but having two players from Nishinomiya is seriously exciting, isn’t it? If both of them have huge seasons, maybe this sets the stage for a championship parade in Nishinomiya next year?
※Takuma, thank you for the information！！
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