Stanford slugger, former Japanese HS star, puts on show during 2026 Draft Combine
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PHOENIX -- Night game, day game, before 9 a.m. at a Major League ballpark -- Rintaro Sasaki’s power is legit.
The 2026 Draft Combine kicked off Tuesday at Chase Field with an electric batting practice display from the slugging first baseman, who posted the highest exit velocity of the early session (115.4 mph) and two of the four longest homers – 458 feet (110.6 mph) and 434 feet (107.3 mph).
“That was a great experience for me,” Sasaki said afterwards. “It was a great moment. I just tried to hit [it over] the wall, hit it far away and hit it hard.”
Sasaki’s arrival in Arizona to show what he can do with the bat, glove and in the interview room is the latest step in a glass-ceiling breaking process that started two years ago when he decided to attend Stanford, rather than enter the NPB Draft in his native Japan. The all-time high school home run hitter in the country’s history is Draft-eligible as a sophomore and could potentially land anywhere from the 7th to the 12th round this July.
But before he mashed 23 home runs over two years for the Cardinal, Sasaki began his stateside baseball journey in the MLB Draft League, and to even greater success, the Appalachian League. Both summer circuits used wood bats, a change from the composite ones used at the high school and collegiate level.
“Bat is bat, honestly.” Sasaki quipped. “Nothing changes for me.”
Part of Sasaki’s pregame routine at Stanford included taking his warmup swings with a wood bat, which is what he used to put on a show Tuesday and will continue with going forward into the pro ranks. To his point, Sasaki has a track record of clobbering balls with all varieties of bats -- 430 feet with a wood bat in the summer of 2024, 476 feet with an aluminum bat in May.
Known for his prodigious home run prowess as a teenager, Sasaki believes he’s actually a much more proficient power hitter now than he was during his high school days. Working with the strength and conditioning staff at Stanford, the 21-year-old has adopted a “more force, more power” approach to his swing, evidenced in that 50 percent of his hits this season went for extra bases.
Hitters have recently parlayed eye-popping batting practice success at the Combine into improved Draft position. George Wolkow (CWS No. 13), Brandon Winokur (MIN No. 15) and Brandon Compton (MIA No. 11) all put on shows at the D-backs’ park over the past four years, setting the tone for their pro careers to come.