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MIAMI (AP) – The Miami Marlins drafted Japanese slugger Rintaro Sasaki out of Stanford in the eighth round of the amateur draft on Sunday.
Marlins select Japanese slugger Rintaro Sasaki out of Stanford in draft’s eighth round
MIAMI (AP) - The Miami Marlins drafted Japanese slugger Rintaro Sasaki out of Stanford in the eighth round of the amateur draft on Sunday.
The 21-year-old first baseman played two seasons at Stanford, hitting .262 with 16 homers and 47 RBIs as a sophomore last year.
Sasaki played under Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani's father, Toru, as a kid and is Japan's all-time high school home run leader.
Fukuoka SoftBank of Nippon Professional Baseball has exclusive negotiating rights after using a first-round pick on Sasaki last October, so he faces a decision whether to remain in the US or head back to Japan to start his professional career.
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