MIAMI -- Growing up in Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture, a teenage Rintaro Sasaki watched on TV as Japanese legend and Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki played nearly 7,500 miles away in a city called Miami and memorably collected his 3,000th career Major League hit in a Marlins uniform.
Earlier this week, Sasaki, whom the Marlins selected in the eighth round of this month's MLB Draft, announced on his Instagram account that he intended to sign with the organization. He put pen to paper shortly after, inking a deal worth $210,200, per MLB Pipeline's Jonathan Mayo.
"I'm actually grateful to play here," Sasaki said during Thursday's introductory press conference. "[Suzuki's] not playing right now, but I actually care for and really respect him for playing here. And now I'm here, I'm so glad."
The 21-year-old Sasaki decided to sign with the Marlins over returning to Stanford University or signing with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball, who won exclusive negotiating rights over the Yokohama DeNA BayStars after both selected him in the NPB first round last October.
It was not a decision that Sasaki took lightly. In the end, however, Sasaki stood by his ultimate goal: finding a way to the Majors. As the projected No. 1 selection in the 2024 NPB Draft, the first baseman instead went to Stanford, where he had a more direct path to a big league organization than waiting nine years to become an international free agent or having a team in Japan post him for MLB clubs.
"Anywhere is great options," Sasaki said. "... But my goal is, my dream is always going to be how I'm going to make the big leagues as soon as possible. So, that's a big reason for choosing [this way]. Miami is giving me a great opportunity for me. So excited, too, and so grateful. That's a big reason I choose."
After the initial attention directed his way for coming stateside, Sasaki hit just seven homers and posted a .790 OPS in 2025. He improved upon that in '26, knocking 16 homers and recording a .952 OPS with nearly as many walks (45) as strikeouts (50) for Stanford. Sasaki also has big raw power, as evidenced by a 458-foot homer and some of the highest exit velocities (max 115.4 mph) at June’s Draft Combine.
Sasaki acknowledged that there is room to grow in all facets of his game, and his development journey started this week at the Marlins' 2026 Draft camp at loanDepot park. In short time, he and the others will be assigned to Minor League affiliates to begin their professional careers.
"They actually made me feel so very welcome to come to Miami," Sasaki said. "They also told me about kind of development plannings also, too. So, that's actually feeling great for me. I actually kind of create, made the vision for playing here. That's actually a big reason for deciding here. Want to be part of the Marlins' players, try to win, try to help the teams. That's always going to be a reason.
"It's going to be hard work. ... Keep doing what you do. Try to improve. Try to get better for everything. Even hitting stuff, defense stuff, baserunning, everything, physical."
Sasaki also has his sights on another tool not listed in any scouting report. Having adapted to American culture and learned English once stepping foot on Stanford's campus, Sasaki is ready to ingratiate himself in Miami.
"Maybe trying to speak Spanish, studying," Sasaki said. "I think that's the next goal. I'm not like a native speaker here for English, so English first, and then coming to Spanish at the same time."