Credit: Matthew Huang/ISI Photos

Stanford baseball begins their 2026 season on Friday, February 13th in Surprise, Arizona for the College Baseball Series. They’ll open against No. 24 Arizona at 5:00 PM PT on Flo College. With baseball season getting underway, I thought it would be good to list five things to look for from the Cardinal this season. Ok, let’s get after it!

VIDEO: Bay Area College Baseball Media Day 2026: Stanford

READ: Breaking down the 2026 Stanford Baseball schedule

#1. How dangerous will Rintaro Sasaki’s bat be? Listed as a sophomore, Rintaro Sasaki is in many ways a redshirt sophomore since he came over during the spring of 2024 and was in the dugout but not playing. He’ll be MLB draft eligible this summer and was drafted back in the fall by the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. Sasaki is coming off a season in which he hit seven home runs for 41 RBIs to go along with a .269 batting average, a .377 on base percentage, and a .413 slugging percentage. For a freshman those are actually good numbers, but given the hype that surrounded him, it felt like was expected to have double that production. Now that he’s a sophomore, Sasaki will be expected to produce a lot more than he did last year. If he’s able to approach a 20 home run season, that would be a real shot in the arm to the Cardinal lineup.  

READ: Stanford slugger Rintaro Sasaki drafted in 1st round of 2025 NPB Draft by Fukuoka

#2. How big of a season will Jimmy Nati have? Senior infielder Jimmy Nati was one of two players that represented the Cardinal at Bay Area College Baseball Media Day earlier this month. He is coming off a strong season in which he hit 16 home runs to go along with 50 RBIs, a .300 batting average, a .367 on base percentage, and a .581 slugging percentage. Hopefully for Stanford, Nati and Sasaki can prove to be a dangerous one-two punch in the lineup. If Nati can have a 20+ home run season along with Sasaki stepping up his game to the levels that I mentioned, this Cardinal lineup should be dangerous assuming everyone else will elevate their game.

#3. Can Nick Dugan lock down the Friday night starter role?  If Stanford wants to make some noise this season, their pitching is going to have to really improve. Senior right-handed pitcher Nick Dugan was the other player who joined head coach David Esquer and Jimmy Nati at the media day. He is coming off as season in which he went 6-0 with a 4.80 ERA, 39 strikeouts, and zero home runs allowed in 45.0 innings pitched. That would lead you to believe that the Friday night job is Dugan’s to lose. Not allowing a home run was great for Dugan, but he gave up more runs than he would have liked. If he can have an ERA under 4.00, that would be massive.

#4. Can the bullpen do their job? For the last couple of seasons, Stanford’s bullpen has been shaky to say the least. Last season, righty Kassius Thomas had a 10.13 ERA, righty Trevor Moore had a 6.31 ERA, righty Ryan Speshyock had a 5.33 ERA, and righty Aidan Keenan, who was supposed to be the closer, had a 5.59 ERA. The bullpen needs to be way more reliable than they were last year. While the offense should be improved, they’re still going to need a much more reliable bullpen if they want to get back to the NCAA tournament.

#5. How will Charlie Bates perform at short stop? Last season, Charlie Bates had to play in the outfield due to Temo Becerra handling short stop duties. This season, as a sophomore, Bates will now get to play his natural position of short stop. Bates hit one home run for seven RBIs to go along with a .270 batting average, a .320 on base percentage, and a .416 slugging percentage. While his bat will need to be improved, it’s really his defense in the infield that will be the biggest thing to look for. He could make a real impact defensively.

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