Rintaro Sasaki of the Stanford Cardinal swings at a pitch during a game between Stanford and Waseda University of Japan at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond on Feb. 25, 2026, in Stanford, Calif.

A torrid hot stretch, capped off by a damaging shot to a scoreboard, has put Stanford baseball’s Japanese slugging phenom back into the spotlight. 

Three years ago, Rintaro Sasaki was the most talked-about high school prospect in Japan. He was already known for being the son of a coaching legend, as his father coached both Shohei Ohtani and Yusei Kikuchi. But then Sasaki made a name for himself when he hit a country-record 140 home runs in high school.

Article continues below this ad

He easily could have been the top player in Japan’s professional league draft. But he made a stunning decision to forgo the pros in Japan and instead come to the United States, electing to play college baseball at Stanford. His decision, and the unique path, made him one of the most fascinating people in college baseball before he even played a game. There were entire podcast series about him prior to the season starting, and the consul general of Japan even came from San Francisco to Stanford to watch him play. 

But in his first full season, Sasaki struggled. In 201 at-bats, Sasaki hit .269 with only seven home runs, and while he drew 25 walks and was hit by a pitch 10 times, his 47 strikeouts were alarming. In an interview with the Japan Times, Sasaki said he’d give his season a “3 out of 10” grade, but other evaluators were much harsher. The Athletic’s Keith Law wrote that the hype about Sasaki’s chances to be a prospect for the MLB Draft was “totally unwarranted” based on what he saw. 

But this year as a sophomore, Sasaki has started to show why he was such a ballyhooed prospect in the first place. In the past four weeks, Sasaki is batting .339 in 15 games, with four doubles and seven homers — equaling his home run total for all of last year in a single month. He’s also cut down on his strikeouts (nine) while still showing a good eye at the plate (17 walks). 

Got a tip? Send us the scoop.

Got a tip? Send us the scoop.

And Sasaki even left his mark on the campus of Stanford’s most recent opponent, Virginia Tech. According to Stanford spokesperson Tyler Geivett, Sasaki starts his batting practice by using a wood bat as practice for professional ball before switching to the metal bats college players used. On Sunday, a homer Sasaki hit with a wooden bat smashed into the Virginia Tech scoreboard — and broke off a piece of the letters T and E in “Tech” in the process.

Article continues below this ad

The scoreboard at Virginia Tech that Stanford slugger Rintaro Sasaki left a hole in during batting practice on Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Blacksburg, Va.

The hole in the scoreboard at Virginia Tech, which was caused by a batting practice home run by Stanford slugger Rintaro Sasaki on Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Blacksburg, Va.

Sasaki added some in-game damage to the Hokies, too. He reached base nine times over the weekend, balancing power (two homers) with plate discipline (five walks) to help Stanford take two of three games from their conference foes.

The Cardinal desperately needed the strong showing, as the perennial powerhouse has struggled to a 13-13 record so far this year. But Sasaki catching fire could be the exact thing the Cardinal needs to reach the NCAA Tournament — and help the slugger improve his MLB Draft stock at the same time.

Article continues below this ad

— 'I believe in Cal': Stud frosh QB skips transfer portal, will return to Berkeley— The night ESPN watched two college mascots try to kill each other— Cal mercilessly trolls Bill Belichick, girlfriend Jordon Hudson at stadium— Neon spandex, expired Yoo-hoo and IKEA: The greatest college mascot love story

Full college sports coverage

For all of our Bay Area sports coverage, sign up for The Catch newsletter here.

© SFGate