After skipping Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball Draft to attend Stanford, Rintaro Sasaki now faces another career-defining decision after the Miami Marlins selected him in the eighth round of the 2026 MLB Draft.
Taken with the 235th overall pick, the powerful first baseman gives the Marlins one of the most intriguing late-round selections in this year’s class. The 21-year-old is widely known as Japan’s all-time high school home run leader, and Miami believes his power gives him a chance to develop into a legitimate professional bat.
“Huge,” Marlins area scout Scott Fairbanks said of Sasaki’s power. “It’s hard to find. That’s a big reason why I like him. His name came up on the board. You look around, it’s just not out there, so it’s unbelievably valuable. So, when you can grab something like that, you just do it.”
Rintaro Sasaki has been drafted in the 8th round by the Marlins!
He has spent the last two years at Stanford. Slashed .262/.403/.549/.952 with 16 HR as a sophomore. The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks won his rights in the last NPB Draft.
His father, Hiroshi, coached Shohei Ohtani and… pic.twitter.com/20LiwkOQC0
— Baseball Is Dead (@baseballisdead_) July 12, 2026
After an adjustment period during his freshman season at Stanford, Sasaki made a significant leap in 2026. He hit .262 with 16 home runs, 47 RBIs and a .952 OPS across 54 games while drawing 45 walks against 50 strikeouts, showing improved plate discipline to complement his raw power.
His stock also rose at the MLB Draft Combine. He launched a 458-foot home run and produced exit velocities as high as 115.4 mph during batting practice.
Fairbanks believes Sasaki’s development extended beyond the numbers.
“Just plate discipline,” Fairbanks said. “His at-bats got better. He started getting to that big, huge power that we all know he has. I think there’s still room for even more. He’s become more of a complete hitter.”
Miami also came away impressed by Sasaki’s makeup and ease of coaching after extensively scouting him throughout the year.
Career Altering Decision for Rintaro
As talented as he is, however, Sasaki now faces a complicated decision. The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks still hold his negotiating rights after selecting him with their first-round pick in the 2025 NPB Draft, while returning to Stanford for another collegiate season also remains an option.
Choosing the Marlins would give the quickest path toward Major League Baseball through the minor league system.
Or, he could return to Japan for immediate opportunities in Nippon Professional Baseball. But that would likely delay an eventual move to MLB because NPB players generally must either accumulate nine years of service time or be posted by their club.
Vice president of amateur forecasting Frankie Piliere acknowledged the unique situation facing the Japanese slugger.
“Rintaro has a lot of good options, and I think he’ll choose the one that’s best for him,” Piliere said. “He’s put himself in a position where he can make those great choices.”
For the Marlins, the appeal is fair and square. Sasaki possesses elite raw power, and he also fills an organizational need at first base. Whether that talent begins its professional journey in Miami’s farm system, back in Japan, or at Stanford next spring is now entirely up to him.
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