Rintaro Sasaki (18), who was considered the biggest player in Japanese high school baseball, chose the American college league instead of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
According to MLB.com and ESPN on the 11th, Sasaki decided to attend an American university instead of submitting an application for the upcoming NPB rookie draft.무지개토토
Sasaki, a huge man with a height of 184 cm and a weight of 113 kg, hit 140 home runs, the most in Japanese high school baseball history. He easily surpasses the previous record (111 home runs).
He appears to have decided that it would be better to go straight to the MLB rookie draft through an American university rather than play professionally in Japan and become a free agent (FA).
Sasaki, who attends Hanamaki Higashi High School in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, is a high school senior and junior with Major League Baseball (MLB) superstar Shohei Otani (Los Angeles Angels).
His father, Hiroshi Sasaki, who is the head coach at the high school, is also Otani’s teacher.
ESPN said, “It is unclear how well Sasaki will perform against the best amateur pitchers in the United States,” and predicted, “Considering such uncertainty, Sasaki will be selected in the third round (in the major league rookie draft).”