Wednesday, November 11, 2026
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Asia, Japan

NPB Farm League

The NPB Farm League is the minor league of Japanese professional baseball: the second teams ("ni-gun") of the 12 NPB clubs plus Oisix Niigata Albirex BC and Kufu HAYATE Ventures Shizuoka. The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters won the 2026 Farm Championship, beating the Yomiuri Giants 5-2 in the final.

Latest scores

Full schedule
Farm Championship Final, game 1
Giants 2
Fighters 5
Final Kusanagi Stadium Shizuoka
Farm Championship Semifinals, game 1
Giants 3
BayStars 1
Final Kusanagi Stadium Shizuoka
Farm Championship Semifinals, game 1
Hawks 6
Fighters 7
Final Kusanagi Stadium Shizuoka
Marines 3
Albirex 5
Final Hard Off Eco Stadium Niigata
BayStars 5
Giants 12
Final Giants Town Stadium
Lions 3
HAYATE 1
Final Chu-ru Stadium Shizuoka

Standings

Full table

East Division

NPB Farm standings 2026
#TeamWL PCTGB
1 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham FightersFighters 6242.596—
2 Tohoku Rakuten Golden EaglesEagles 5755.5099.0
3 Chiba Lotte MarinesMarines 5156.47712.5
4 Tokyo Yakult SwallowsSwallows 4856.46214.0
5 Oisix Niigata Albirex BCAlbirex 4669.40021.5

Division winner advances to the Farm Championship

Central Division

NPB Farm standings 2026
#TeamWL PCTGB
1 Yokohama DeNA BayStarsBayStars 7440.649—
2 Yomiuri GiantsGiants 7547.6153.0
3 Saitama Seibu LionsLions 6951.5758.0
4 Chunichi DragonsDragons 5464.45822.0
5 Kufu HAYATE Ventures ShizuokaHAYATE 3781.31439.0

Division winner advances to the Farm Championship

West Division

NPB Farm standings 2026
#TeamWL PCTGB
1 Fukuoka SoftBank HawksHawks 7049.588—
2 Orix BuffaloesBuffaloes 5457.48612.0
3 Hanshin TigersTigers 4963.43817.5
4 Hiroshima Toyo CarpCarp 4763.42718.5

Division winner advances to the Farm Championship

Next up

All games

The NPB Farm season is over. The new schedule appears here as soon as it is published.

Stat leaders

All stats

Batting leaders

Home runs

  1. 1 Yuta NakamiSaitama Seibu Lions 20
  2. 2 Kane EdokpoloHokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 17
  3. 3 Kyosuke KanekoTohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 13

Batting average

  1. 1 Shintaro HirosawaKufu HAYATE Ventures Shizuoka .296
  2. 2 Yuta NakamiSaitama Seibu Lions .287
  3. 3 Shohei SuzukiKufu HAYATE Ventures Shizuoka .285

Runs batted in

  1. 1 Kyosuke NoguchiKufu HAYATE Ventures Shizuoka 68
  2. 2 Yuta NakamiSaitama Seibu Lions 67
  3. 3 Koichiro OdaYokohama DeNA BayStars 54

Pitching leaders

ERA

  1. 1 Teppei MatakiYomiuri Giants 1.82
  2. 2 Kei KawanoHiroshima Toyo Carp 2.01
  3. 3 Haruki SugiyamaSaitama Seibu Lions 2.24

Strikeouts

  1. 1 Ryunosuke SatoHiroshima Toyo Carp 100
  2. 2 Yamato FujiSaitama Seibu Lions 90
  3. 3 Teppei MatakiYomiuri Giants 86

Saves

  1. 1 Tomoki UemuraOisix Niigata Albirex BC 29
  2. 2 Dauri MoretaHanshin Tigers 15
  3. 3 Wataru OhishiKufu HAYATE Ventures Shizuoka 13

Japan's minor leagues

Every NPB club has a farm team where prospects develop, veterans work their way back from injury and foreign signings get used to Japanese baseball. Unlike the MLB system there is only one minor league level per club, and players move between the top team and the farm team throughout the season.

How the farm season works

In 2026 the 14 clubs played in 3 divisions (East Division, Central Division, West Division) from March 14 to September 27. Teams also meet clubs from other divisions. The division winners go on to the Farm Championship, which decides the best farm team in Japan.

Two independent clubs

Since 2024 two clubs without an NPB top team play in the farm league: Oisix Niigata Albirex BC from Niigata and Kufu HAYATE Ventures Shizuoka. For their players the farm league is a showcase: a strong season can lead to a move to an NPB club.

Frequently asked questions

What is the NPB Farm League?

It is the minor league (ni-gun) of Nippon Professional Baseball, where the second teams of the 12 NPB clubs play, together with two independent clubs.

How many teams are in the NPB Farm League?

14 in 2026: Hanshin Tigers, Yomiuri Giants, Yokohama DeNA BayStars, Hiroshima Toyo Carp, Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Chunichi Dragons, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, Chiba Lotte Marines, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, Saitama Seibu Lions, Orix Buffaloes, Oisix Niigata Albirex BC, Kufu HAYATE Ventures Shizuoka.

What happened to the Eastern League and Western League?

For decades the farm teams played in two regional leagues, the Eastern League and the Western League. The farm league is now organised in divisions under one NPB Farm League.

Who are Oisix and HAYATE?

Oisix Niigata Albirex BC and Kufu HAYATE Ventures Shizuoka joined the farm league in 2024. They have no NPB top team; their players use the farm league as a route to NPB.

All NPB Farm questions answered

Standings, schedule and stats update automatically several times a day. Data: Nippon Professional Baseball (npb.jp).

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