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Rintaro Sasaki is 17 years old and he may well be the future of Japanese baseball.
But he’s taking a detour first.
According to the Yakyu Cosmopolitan, Sasaki will forgo eligibility for the Nippon Professional Baseball league draft and instead come to the US to play college baseball.
Rintaro Sasaki: “At this point, I’ve decided on studying abroad in the United States in order to get to the next level in my baseball career.”
He has not decided what college he will attend but he is reportedly eyeing Vanderbilt University. pic.twitter.com/YpffJdDNfK
— Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@yakyucosmo) October 10, 2023
The report states that Sasaki has not chosen a school yet, but that SEC powerhouse Vanderbilt is a top contender.
The Commodores won their first College World Series in 2014 and then another in 2019.
But Sasaki will have a long line of suitors. The 6’0, 250-pound first baseman put up ridiculous numbers
When you see his numbers, you’ll understand why.
Sasaki slashed .413/.514/.808 with a 1.322 OPS and a jaw-dropping 140 home runs at the high school level.
Sasaki also attends Hanamaki-Higashi High School, the same high school as Shohei Ohtani, where he plays for his father, Hiroshi Sasaki.
Peter Flaherty of Baseball America gave the following scouting report on Sasaki:
“The younger Sasaki’s calling card is his thunderous raw power which comfortably grades out as a 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale. While his power is his premier tool, Sasaki also has a knack for consistently finding the barrel and has a great feel to hit. He has plenty of bat speed as well as big time “buggy whip” in his hands. Sasaki has also shown an advanced approach and has walked twice as many times as he has struck out. Defensively, Sasaki is limited to first base and he fields the position well.”
Despite opting to play at the college level, Sasaki will not be able to benefit from name, image and likeness deals as an international player.
Meaning that he’ll be delaying any sort of significant pay day until he’s (potentially) selected in the MLB Draft three years down the line.
But some lucky college team could be in line to add a generational talent.