Stanford University infielder Rintaro Sasaki (sophomore), who was selected first overall by Softbank Hawks in last fall's draft, lost in the second round of the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) postseason tournament, one of the major conferences in American college baseball, bringing his second season to an end.

In the latest draft prospect rankings released by ESPN on the 18th, he was ranked 153rd. Attention is focused on whether he will be a high draft pick in the MLB draft, which begins on July 11th.

Negotiations with Softbank Hawks to sign players have also been opened. Tomohiro Nagai, head of player development and player acquisition, said, "We want to ask if they might make a decision before waiting for their draft. In any case, we want to present our case to them, showing that we want them to join us and that we have high expectations for them. We want to proceed while asking them when it would be possible to do so."

In his second season in the US, Sasaki played in all 54 games, batting .262 with 54 hit At Bat 206 at-bats, 16 Home Run, and 47 RBI. Summarizing his performance, General Manager Nagai maintained his positive assessment, saying, "Of course, even at this stage, we think it was a good decision to draft him." He added, "We don't know if he will come back (to Japan). If he stays in America, there is a good chance we will go. If he does come back, we may have a discussion with him in Japan."