Rintaro

Sasaki

Sasaki, who hit a high school-record 140 homers in high school overseas in Japan, was expected to be the first overall pick in last year’s Nippon Professional Baseball Draft, but has decided to play collegiate baseball at Stanford instead. He had been playing in the Trenton Thunder of the MLB Draft League for the last few weeks, but will now play in the wood bat summer collegiate league. The 19-year-old phenom will be eligible for the MLB Draft as early as 2026.

He’ll be playing for the Trenton Thunder. The 19-year-old Sasaki was ineligible to take the field for Stanford this year, but he is expected to play college ball next year. A power-hitting first baseman, Sasaki was considered a top prospect in the NBP draft before leaving Japan. He’ll be MLB draft eligible in 2026 and will likely turn pro then.