| Rintaro Sasaki | |
|---|---|
| Stanford Cardinal | |
| First baseman | |
| Born:April 18, 2005 Hanamaki, Iwate, Japan | |
Bats: Left Throws: Right |
Rintaro Sasaki (born April 18,2005) is a Japanese baseball first baseman for the Stanford Cardinal of Stanford University.
Sasaki attended Hanamaki Higashi High School in Iwate Prefecture,and played for the school's baseball team. Sasaki set the Japanese high school record with 140 home runs. [1] He graduated in March 2024. [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 arrived in time for the spring semester in 2024,but did not join the team for the 2024 season to acclimate to the United States. [4] Sasaki played for the Trenton Thunder of the MLB Draft League in June 2024 [5] and for the Greeneville Flyboys of the Appalachian League in July. [6] He debuted with the Cardinal in 2025. [7] Baseball America rated Sasaki as the best freshman in collegiate baseball before the season. [8] He had a .269 batting average with seven home runs and 41 runs batted in in 52 games played for the Cardinal. [9] After the 2025 collegiate season,Sasaki played collegiate summer baseball for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League. [10] He will be eligible for the 2025 Nippon Professional Baseball draft and the 2026 Major League Baseball draft. [9] [4]
On October 23,2025,the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and the Yokohama DeNA Bay Stars selected him in the First Round of the NPB Draft,with the Hawks winning his negotiating rights. [11]
Sasaki's father,Hiroshi,was his coach in high school. [12] Hiroshi also coached Shohei Ohtani and Yusei Kikuchi; [4] Kikuchi considers Rintaro to be like a younger brother. [13]