Overview
- The Miami Marlins selected Rintaro Sasaki in the eighth round (235th overall) of the 2026 MLB Draft on Sunday, giving him a direct path into their minor-league system.
- Sasaki boosted his stock with a strong 2026 season at Stanford, hitting 16 home runs and producing a .952 OPS while improving plate discipline by drawing nearly as many walks as strikeouts.
- He also turned heads at the MLB Draft Combine in June with a 458-foot batting-practice home run and a recorded exit velocity up to 115.4 mph, traits Miami scouts called unusually valuable.
- Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks hold Sasaki’s exclusive Nippon Professional Baseball negotiating rights from the 2025 NPB draft, and the formal cutoffs to sign for both the Marlins and SoftBank fall at the end of July with Miami’s deadline cited as July 27.
- Sasaki’s choice will shape his life and career path: signing with SoftBank would start his pro career in Japan and likely delay a move to MLB because of NPB service rules, signing with Miami would begin a U.S. development track, and returning to Stanford would keep him eligible for future drafts.