Rintaro Sasaki, the “monster 19-year-old hitter” who set the Japanese high school baseball home run record, is making his MLB Draft League debut.

Sasaki has been a sensation in Japan since his high school days. He is a product of Hanamaki Higashi High School, the same school that produced Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers) and Yusei Kikuchi (Toronto Blue Jays). Sasaki, a direct junior, has a father, Hiroshi Sasaki, who is the high school’s baseball coach. Rintaro Sasaki is the son of the same coach who coached Otani and Kikuchi.

Standing at 6 feet (1.83 meters) tall and weighing 250 pounds (113 kilograms), Sasaki made high school baseball history by hitting 140 home runs in his high school career. The previous record was 111, 안전놀이터 held by Kotaro Kiyomiya. He was considered one of the most powerful and physical hitters in the game.

Despite being the No. 1 overall pick in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) draft, Sasaki chose the U.S. Instead of entering the NPB draft, he chose to attend college in the U.S. and will be attending Stanford University this fall. Sasaki’s decision to attend college in the U.S. instead of NPB is a sign of his long-term commitment to the MLB draft. If he joined an NPB organization, it would take him years to post like Ohtani. He chose the fast track.

On April 11,

MLB.com reported, “Sasaki spent this spring working out and taking classes at Stanford despite being ineligible to play. He’s only played in scrimmages, but the Cardinal have a lot of interest in him.” ”Sasaki will make his MLB Draft League debut on Wednesday. He will play first base for the Trenton Thunder and face Frederick Keith.”

The MLB Draft League was established by the MLB office in 2021. It”s a stage for prospects. There are six teams in total. The Frederick Keys (Frederick, Maryland), Mahoning Valley Scrappers (Niles, Ohio), State College Spikes (University Park, Pennsylvania), Trenton Thunder (Trenton, New Jersey), West Virginia Black Bears (Granville, West Virginia), and Williamsport Crosscutters (Williamsport, Pennsylvania) play 80 games per season. It’s a de facto showcase for college baseball players during the summer,온라인 슬롯 leading up to the MLB Draft each July. After the draft, independent leagues, some minor leaguers, and others compete.

“It’s an exciting moment for teams that have long wondered about Sasaki’s power potential,” said MLB.com. One scout said he has more power than either Ohtani or Hideki Matsui. He could be a possible 2026 MLB draft pick.”