Shane Sasaki came home for graduation on Saturday.
He will return to the mainland as a professional baseball player.
The Tampa Bay Rays selected the ‘Iolani center fielder in the third round as the 99th overall selection of the 2019 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday. The speedy senior came into the high school season rated as the No. 1 prospect in the islands and was No. 191 overall in Baseball America’s pre-draft rankings of the top eligible prospects.
“I’m speechless, hearing my name on TV. I don’t even know what to think,” Sasaki said after getting the call.
The right-handed hitting and throwing Sasaki said he plans to sign with the Rays, with rookie league ball as the likely next destination in a long string of recent trips. Tampa Bay’s rookie teams are based in Princeton, W.Va., and Port Charlotte, Fla.
The slot value of the 99th overall pick is $587,400, according to MLB.com.
Pre-draft workouts had the hard-working Sasaki hopping across America. Last week, Sasaki’s itinerary read something like this: Arizona, return home, back to Arizona, then Los Angeles, Missouri, Cincinnati, and a swing back to the islands for ‘Iolani graduation.
Three days later, he is a Tampa Bay Ray.
“I’m a little bit jet-lagged,” Sasaki noted.
A first-team All-State selection and runner-up for Star-Advertiser position player of the year honors, Sasaki batted .565 with five home runs, 26 RBIs and 26 runs scored in his senior season. His OPS of 1.459, plus eight stolen bases, made him virtually impossible to pitch to this spring. He also possessed tremendous range in center field and displayed a great arm.
He had an inkling that the Rays were serious about him.
“Casey Onaga, he’s been watching me play since freshman year,” Sasaki said of the Tampa Bay scout. “I knew there was a good chance I’d get drafted. There were eight or 10 teams that were interested.”
Before the start of Day 2 of the draft, the Rays had contacted his adviser, Jason Conte, indicating that they would select him in the third round.
Sasaki is the 17th ‘Iolani alum taken in the draft and the highest pick since David Masters (1985) and Mike Fetters (1986) were taken in the first round of back-to-back drafts after going to college.
“I’m happy for Shane. I’m proud of him,” ‘Iolani coach Kurt Miyahira said. “I think he’s been preparing for this for a while. I think he’ll be ready. He’s not afraid to compete. Not afraid to get his hands dirty. He’s not afraid to put in the work.”
‘Iolani has had four alums taken in the past five drafts — Tanner Nishioka (2017), Pikai Winchester and Jensen Park (2015) and Sasaki.
Sasaki was looking forward to celebrating with his family, maybe at his favorite spot, Chili’s Restaurant.
“My family, I thank you for all your support,” he said, “and having my back.”
Sasaki was the only player with Hawaii ties selected in the first 10 rounds. Rounds 11-40 will take place today beginning at 6 a.m.
The University of Hawaii’s Dylan Thomas, Ethan Lopez and Maaki Yamazaki all hope to hear their names called on Day 3. This marked the eighth straight draft UH failed to have a player taken in the top 10 rounds after having five selected between 2009 and ’11.
The Star-Advertiser’s Billy Hull contributed to this story.
