Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The Miami Marlins selected Japanese slugger Rintaro Sasaki in the eighth round of the Major League Baseball Draft on Sunday, leaving the former high school phenomenon with career choices to make. Sasaki, who arrived Stateside in 2023 as Japan’s all-time high school home run leader, has played the last two seasons for Stanford University. His decision to play US college ball made him eligible for both the MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball drafts.
In October, he was drafted by both the Yokohama DeNA BayStars and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks with their first-round picks. The Hawks eventually won exclusive negotiating rights should Sasaki choose to launch his pro career in Japan. He could also continue to play for Stanford, where he crushed 16 home runs with 45 walks and 50 strikeouts in 2025.
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Sasaki, 21, boasts a pedigree instantly recognizable to both Japanese and US students of the game. He hit 140 home runs for Hanamaki Higashi High School, the alma mater of Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, who was also coached there by Sasaki’s father, Hiroshi Sasaki. Before high school, he played “little senior” youth ball under Ohtani’s father, Toru.
The Hawks are hoping he’ll opt for a return home before their negotiating rights expire on July 31, but Sasaki has said he is undecided. Sunday was the second day of the MLB draft, which opened with the Chicago White Sox selecting University of California at Los Angeles shortstop Roch Cholowsky first overall. Texas high school shortstop Grady Emerson went to the Tampa Bay Rays with the second overall pick.
© 2024 AFP
