Marlins' Rintaro Sasaki has huge MLB, NPB decision to make as all-time Japanese record holder

Rintaro Sasaki isn't related to Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki, but he comes to MLB with lots of fanfare of his own.The Marlins drafted Rintaro Sasaki in the eighth round of the 2026 MLB Draft with the No. 235 overall pick on Sunday.He comes from Stanford University, where he hit 16 home runs this season with a .952 OPS.Sasaki's fame far predates his time with the Cardinal, though. He set Japan's all-time high school baseball home runs record -- and given the stage that high school baseball holds in Japan, he's a national celebrity in that country.His power is prodigious, having blasted a 458-foot home run during the MLB Draft Combine."It’s hard to convey just how big of a star Sasaki is in his native Japan," MLB.com's Jesse Borek wrote before the draft. "He reached celebrity status as a teen