Rintaro Sasaki, a highly touted prospect who went to college in the United States without entering the Nippon Professional Baseball draft, has been criticized by a major league prospect expert.
Japanese media Tokyo Sports reported on May 29 (KST), “Stanford University infielder Rintaro Sasaki, who is participating in the Major League Baseball Draft League, hit his third home run of the season on May 27. The local media is already talking about him as ‘a Japanese sensation,' ‘we'll be seeing this for years to come,' ‘his balls are flying over the big trees outside the stadium and into the river,' and ‘he's answering the expectation that he won't make it to the top of the rankings with his skill. But there is also a sobering assessment.”
Sasaki is a big first baseman who graduated from Hanamaki Higashi High School in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. He hit 140 home runs in his high school career, breaking the Japanese high school baseball record for most home runs. Sasaki was projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the Nippon Professional Baseball Draft, but instead chose to attend college in the United States. After playing baseball in the United States, he hoped to be drafted by a major league baseball organization and make it to the big leagues.
Sasaki attended Stanford University, a baseball powerhouse that has reached the College World Series three times. Sasaki will officially start playing for the Stanford baseball team in the 2025 season. 무료 고스톱 게임 Sasaki, who is currently playing in the MLB Draft League, went 2-for-5 with a double, home run, and three RBIs in his U.S. debut on Dec. 12. On the 13th, he went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs, and on the 14th, he went 1-for-1 with a walk.
Coincidentally, Sasaki is a graduate of Hanamaki Higashi High School, the same high school where Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers) is one of the top stars in Major League Baseball. Sasaki's father, Hiroshi Sasaki, is the head coach at the school and is a mentor to both Ohtani and Yusei Kikuchi (Toronto). When asked about Sasaki's home run in his U.S. debut, Ohtani said, “I didn't know (that he had hit a home run),” but added, “I think it's great. I hope he continues to work hard,” and encouraged the high school junior.
Sasaki's power is drawing a lot of attention, but Keith Law, a prospect expert at The Athletic, said, “He needs to work hard to become a major league draft candidate. He's still got a long way to go.” The first thing he points out is Sasaki's size. “He's listed at 6 feet (183 cm) tall and 230 pounds (105 kg), which is on the short side, and he's quite heavy. I can't imagine him playing any position other than first base at his current size. He seems to move in slow motion on the field. I think it's because of his size and conditioning.”
There is also a question mark over whether he will be able to handle the fastballs of American pitchers. “Sasaki couldn't even keep up with a below-average fastball,” Keith Law said. He couldn't see the 95 mph fastball, couldn't pull it, couldn't hit it to the center of the plate. He had four swings and misses, three of which were on 91-95 mph fastballs that were in or near the strike zone. He was late to react to two foul pitches that sailed behind him.”
Keith Law acknowledged Sasaki's power, but said, “He has a lot of work to do just to keep up with his average velocity. He'll need to work on his conditioning. I wouldn't completely rule him out, but he's a long way from being a pro. At this point, he's not going to go in the top 100 at a normal draft level,” he said, emphasizing that Sasaki needs to improve.
