Japanese high school baseball phenom Rintaro Sasaki has reportedly decided to forego his shot at Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) to play for college baseball in the United States. Key details: Multiple reports coming from Japan noted that Sasaki, a 17-year-old student at Hanamaki-Higashi High School in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, did not submit his registration for the upcoming NPB draft and has instead decided to attend an American college to play collegiate baseball, according to multiple reports coming from Japan.