As the college baseball season keeps looming closer, Rintaro Sasaki has made his plans for after his first collegiate season this spring. He will join the Cotuit Kettleers, which is part of the Cape Cod League for the summer.
Sasaki shocked many in Japan last season when he decided to pass on the Nippon Professional Baseball Draft to attend college in the United States. He will be preparing for his freshman year at Stanford University, where he is expected to be the team’s first baseman. Sasaki joined Stanford’s baseball program in March 2024 after graduating from Hanamaki High School in Hanamaki, Iwate, Japan. During Sasaki’s high school career, he set a Japanese high school record with 140 career home runs. In addition, his father was the head baseball coach at his high school, the same school that produced Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yusei Kikuchi.
The 19-year-old got his first taste of action in the United States in the MLB Draft League when he joined the Trenton Thunder. The MLB Draft League features six teams filled with draft-eligible players to help them improve their stock for the MLB Draft during the first half of the year. The second half of the season switches to a professional format, where paid players make up the rosters. Sasaki would play in 26 games with the Thunder, hitting for a .221 average, crushing four home runs, with 17 RBIs.
After his stint ended with the Thunder, he would join the Greeneville Flyboys, part of the Appalachian League. The ten-team league is a summer collegiate baseball league, part of the MLB and USA Baseball Development Pipeline, as it serves as a pathway for amateur baseball players in the U.S. and is an integral part of the development process for USA Baseball Collegiate National Teams, along with other future national teams. He would only suit up in nine games with the Flyboys, but he made an impact, hitting three home runs in 23 at-bats, eight RBIs, hitting for a .391 average, and drawing 11 walks.
Now, Sasaki will gear up for his first collegiate season at Stanford University and then spend the summer in the Cape Cod League. The first baseman was also named on Baseball America’s Top 25 Freshmen list, taking the No. 1 overall spot. Many fans of international baseball are excited to see the freshman make his collegiate debut in what should be a promising season for the slugger.
