One of the top college baseball prospects in not just the Class of 2024 but in recent memory, has made his choice.
It was announced on Tuesday that Rintaro Sasaki will attend Stanford. Sasaki, a 6-foot-tall, 250-pound first baseman has a well-rounded game. He’s most known for his power, though, hitting 140 career home runs as a high school player in Japan.
The best of the best play on The Farm 😤
Welcome to Stanford, Rintaro Sasaki!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/5p4JGZzoQT
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) February 14, 2024
Sasaki’s decision to play college baseball turned heads, as Sasaki’s professional prospects in Japan were strong. Teddy Cahill of Baseball America detailed on Tuesday, Sasaki “was projected to be the top selection in the Nippon Professional Baseball draft.”
Coach David Esquer spoke highly of Sasaki and what he can bring to Stanford.
“He may be the most high-profile international prospect to play college baseball in the United States in a long time,” Esquer said (per Cahill). “His power bat plays right into our style of play, and we look forward to him contributing immediately to help us achieve our goals of competing for and winning national titles.”
Sasaki will enroll at Stanford in April but will not be part of the Cardinal baseball team until the 2025 season. The Cardinal have been one of the best teams in college baseball in recent seasons, making the College World Series in both 2022 and 2023.
[Stanford Baseball on Twitter/X, Baseball America, Photo Credit: Twitter/X user @nyaruse_17]
