Rintaro Sasaki does not believe his swing is already better than Shohei Ohtani. The 19-year-old Japanese phenom humbly rejected the two-way superstar’s praise after a dominant college baseball debut at Stanford.
He didn’t even need his translator to respond!
Sasaki, a true freshman, was the top high school prospect in Japan and chose to forgo a professional career in the Nippon Professional Baseball league to play for the Cardinal. It initially seemed like a long shot that he would play college baseball instead of turning pro in his home country, but NIL money helped to make it a reality.
Listed on the roster at 6-foot-0, 275 pounds, Sasaki has been as advertised since arriving to the United States. He got the silent treatment over the summer after blasting a massive moonshot during his American debut and burst onto the scene with a huge opening weekend against Cal State Fullerton.
In yesterday's doubleheader, Rintaro Sasaki hit 4 balls over 100 MPH. Great opening weekend for Sasaki, who went 6-14 with 8 RBIs. Ultra-physical, comfortably plus power but also has an advanced feel for the barrel. Well-rounded offensive profile. pic.twitter.com/n9NKSNVVEm
— Peter Flaherty III (@PeterGFlaherty) February 17, 2025
Although Sasaki came back down to earth with an 0-5 day against Washington on Saturday, there is no doubt that all of the hype was for good reason. Don’t be surprised if he plays his way into the No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 MLB Draft over the next three seasons at Stanford!
Shohei Ohtani thinks Rintaro Sasaki’s swing is already better than his own. They actually played at the same high school (same with Yusei Kikuchi), where the latter hit a Japanese record 140 home runs.
However, Sasaki does not think he is on an Ohtani level — yet. In his words, “absolutely no!”
"Absolutely no."
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 20, 2025
Rintaro Sasaki humbly rejects Shohei Ohtani’s statement that Rintaro has a better swingpic.twitter.com/K4cMKY6rff
It will be hard to reach an Ohtani level of dominance as a hitter but Sasaki is well on his way. He will be a college pitcher’s nightmare for the next three years and could eventually become the next Japanese superstar to take over Major League Baseball. Buy stock now!
The post 275-Pound Japanese Baseball Phenom Rejects Shohei Ohtani’s Comparison After Stanford Debut appeared first on BroBible.
275-Pound Japanese Baseball Phenom Rejects Shohei Ohtani’s Comparison After Stanford Debut
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