Rintaro Sasaki is a Japanese baseball first baseman.

Sasaki attended Hanamaki Higashi High School in Iwate Prefecture. He graduated in March 2024.[1] Sasaki set the Japanese high school record with 140 home runs.[2]

Sasaki decided to enroll at Stanford University to play college baseball for the Stanford Cardinal rather than enter the Nippon Professional Baseball draft.[3] He will be eligible for the 2026 Major League Baseball draft. In June 2024, Sasaki played for the Trenton Thunder of the MLB Draft League.[4]

His father, Hiroshi, was his coach in high school.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Author, No (February 18, 2024). "Stanford-bound slugger Rintaro Sasaki is first-round MLB talent, coach says". The Japan Times. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  2. ^ "Japanese prospect Rintaro Sasaki to join Thunder in MLB Draft League". June 10, 2024.
  3. ^ Baggarly, Andrew. "A 19-year-old Stanford phenom is blazing a new trail from Japan to the majors" – via NYTimes.com.
  4. ^ "Top Japanese prospect Rintaro Sasaki to make stateside debut in MLB Draft League". MLB.com.
  5. ^ "Japanese slugger Rintaro Sasaki blazing his own baseball path in US via Stanford, MLB Draft League". AP News. June 11, 2024.