Rintaro Sasaki homered in the second at-bat of his U.S. amateur debut last week, the blast grabbing headlines because the 19-year-old might be the next big bat export from Japan to Major League Baseball.
But let’s not be confused.
Rintaro is a different Sasaki than the one who threw 26 fastballs clocked at triple figures during a lights-out performance for Japan against Mexico in the 2022 World Baseball Classic. That was Ru014dki Sasaki, another phenom seemingly destined for a huge MLB payday.
Ru014dki, 22, is in his fourth season pitching professionally in Japan for Chiba Lotte, where he’s compiled a record of 25-12 with a 1.