Stanford baseball’s season is already under way and helping them start off the season 4-0 has been their stellar freshman class. I would like to provide a breakdown of the freshman and what they are expected to bring to the program. For the full roster, click here.
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Headlining the Cardinal’s freshman class is Rintaro Sasaki from Hanamaki, Iwate, Japan. Sasaki is the biggest incoming freshman Stanford Baseball has had in a long long time and likely the biggest incoming freshman in program history. He could have gone pro and played for Nippon Professional Baseball, the highest level of baseball in Japan, but he instead decided to begin his MLB path by playing college baseball at Stanford. Sasaki has all sorts of preseason awards like preseason ACC Freshman of the Year, Preseason National Freshman of the Year, etc.
Listed at 6’0”, 275 pounds, Sasaki will play either at first base or be a designated hitter for Stanford. Through four games with 18 at-bats, he is hitting .389 for eight RBIs with a .500 slugging percentage and a .450 on base percentage. He is looking like the real deal and should provide the Cardinal with an excellent bat all season long. While he hasn’t yet hit a home run this season, he is known for his powerful bat, setting a Japanese high school record with 140 home runs. There should be many long balls he hits this season.
Stanford is bringing in a talented short stop in JJ Moran out of San Marcos High School in San Marcos, California. Moran was ranked the No. 23 short stop in his class by Perfect Game. As a senior, he hit .375 for for eight home runs and 33 RBIs. So far this season, Moran has not seen an at-bat, but he should provide some depth and be an option for Stanford to go to should they need a bat or defensive body in the infield.
In the outfield, Stanford has Tatum Marsh out of Valley Christian High School in San Jose, California. He was rated the 8th best outfielder in the state of California and the 38th best overall prospect in the state by Perfect Game. Nationwide, Perfect Game rated him the 40th best outfielder in his class. Marsh has had a fantastic start to his career at Stanford: In 14 at-bats, he’s hitting .500 for one home run, five RBIs, a 1.000 slugging percentage, and a .563 on base percentage. He’s living up to the hype so far and looks to be a key piece of this Cardinal lineup.
In the infield, Stanford has a gifted short stop in Charlie Bates out of Palo Alto High School right across the street. Bates was ranked the No. 2 short stop and No. 4 overall prospect in the state of California by Perfect Game. Nationwide, Perfect Game rated him the No. 24 overall player in his class. Stanford has played him in the outfield this season just so they can get his bat into the lineup and he’s got the defensive chops to play in the outfield as well.
Bates grew up in Palo Alto and was actually born at Stanford hospital, making him as local as you can get. He grew up wanting to play at Stanford, so this is truly a dream come true for him. Through four games, Bates is batting .118 with a .235 slugging percentage and a .118 on base percentage. It might take him a bit of time to get going, but make no mistake, the future is vey bright for this young man. And on that note, Bates has a pair of triples in Friday's game against Washington. So there ya go.
The next freshman to address is right-handed pitcher/outfielder Parker Warner, out of Granada High School in Livermore, California. He was ranked the No. 31 right-handed pitcher in the state of California by Perfect Game, going 13-0 with a 0.93 ERA as a senior. He also played basketball in high school, so he’s got some versatility as an athlete.
So far, Warner has seen action as a starter with a 33.75 ERA after having a rough outing in game four against Cal State Fullerton. He’s got some work to do to bring that ERA down. That said, he’s also projected to see some time as an outfielder/hitter, so it’s going to be interesting to see how he gets utilized as the season goes on.
Another pitcher the Cardinal have coming into the fold is righty Sammy Petrocelli out of Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California. Same high school as former Stanford basketball star Ziaire Williams. Petrocelli was ranked the No. 13 right-handed pitcher and 47th overall prospect in the state of California by Perfect Game. He is yet to see any action this season.
Another righty the Cardinal have coming in is Dominic Panella out of Leigh High School in San Jose, California. Panella also played basketball in high school. He was ranked the No. 23 right-handed pitcher in the state of California by Perfect Game and the No. 74 overall prospect in the state. He is yet to see the field this season.
Continuing with the theme of right-handed pitchers is 6’4”, 200 pound Liam Golden out of Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento, California. Perfect Game ranked him the No. 24 righty in the state and the 80th overall prospect in the state. He is yet to see the field this season.
Moving way from pitchers for just a moment, the Cardinal have infielder Nate Stiveson out of Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, California. Stiveson was ranked the No. 39 short stop in the state by Perfect Game and should provide some depth in the infield. He is yet to see the field this season.
Going back to pitchers, the Cardinal have added righty Cohen Gomez out of Canyon High School in Anaheim Hills, California. Gomez was ranked the No. 12 right-handed pitcher and 46th overall prospect in the state by Perfect Game. So far he has not seen any action this season, but given his ranking coming out of high school, we could see him on the mound in the near future in a relief role.
Lastly, the Cardinal have added left-handed pitcher Austin Steeves out of Casa Grande High School in Petaluma, California. Perfect Game rated him the No. 21 left-handed pitcher in the state. He is yet to pitch any innings, but given that he is a lefty, that should provide some opportunities for him to see some action this season.
Overall, this is a really strong freshman class for Stanford. Especially with respect to their bats. Sasaki, Marsh, and Bates should be great additions to the lineup and give the Cardinal an offensive pop that they didn’t have last season. The pitchers coming in have a lot of potential as well, but it might take longer for them to make their impact given that they are simply behind some more experienced pitchers. They should definitely stay ready as the back end of Stanford’s pitching rotation is very much up for grabs in terms of who will get those innings.
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