PHILADELPHIA - The Miami Marlins selected Japanese slugger Rintaro Sasaki out of Stanford University in the eighth round of Major League Baseball's amateur draft on Sunday.
The 21-year-old infielder was also the top pick of the SoftBank Hawks in the 2025 Nippon Professional Baseball draft.
Sasaki, drafted 235th overall by Miami, has been touted as Japanese high school baseball's home run king, having amassed 140 homers playing for Hanamaki Higashi High School in his native Iwate Prefecture.
He now faces a decision about whether to turn pro with the Marlins, start his career in Japan with SoftBank, or remain at Stanford for another year of college ball.
The deadline for negotiations with the Marlins is on July 27, and the cutoff for signing a contract with Softbank is also at the end of the month.
If he opts to postpone his professional career and stay in college, he will be eligible for draft selection in Japan this fall and in the United States a year later.
Sasaki entered Stanford University in 2024 and hit 16 home runs this season, his second in the United States.
As a youngster, he looked up to fellow Hanamaki Higashi players Yusei Kikuchi and Shohei Ohtani, both of whom were coached by Sasaki's father.
