On Wednesday morning, the wait will finally be over: Roki Sasaki will take the mound for the first time in a regular-season MLB game, starting for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the finale of a two-game season-opening set against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo.
It's hard to overstate the anticipation around this moment, one that's been building since Sasaki was a high-schooler shattering velocity records in Japan. The righty was made the No. 1 pick in the NPB draft before he even turned 18, and he somehow managed to even exceed that hype as a pro, dominating Japanese competition in a way that few pitchers ever have.
Of course, whether that will translate to success at the Major League level is another question entirely, one that we won't get an answer to until we see Sasaki take the mound against the very best hitters in the world. But to try and get a sense for how he might fare, we can take a look at two of his teammates: Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Those two played an outsized role in bringing Sasaki to L.A., and both of them know a thing or two about making the jump from Japan to The Show. But how does Sasaki's resume to date stack up against his heroes? Let's go to the tale of the tape.
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Roki Sasaki NPB stats: How does righty's success in Japan compare to Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto?
Sasaki spent the shortest period of time in NPB, leaving millions on the table to make the move to the States as soon as possible. But what he lacked in longevity, he made up for with one of the highest peaks the league has ever seen — one that compares favorably to even Ohtani and Yamamoto's numbers.
Roki Sasaki | Shohei Ohtani | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | |
|---|---|---|---|
Seasons | 4 | 5 | 7 |
Innings pitched | 414.2 | 543 | 897 |
ERA | 2.02 | 2.52 | 1.82 |
WHIP | 0.883 | 1.076 | 0.935 |
BB/9 | 2 | 3.3 | 2.1 |
K/9 | 11.4 | 9.3 | 10.3 |
Sasaki threw the fewest innings of the three, not even half of Yamamoto's number (of course, the latter signed a $325 million megadeal with L.A. last winter because he waited until he was eligible as a non-amateur free agent). But his ERA is better than Ohtani's and just behind Yamamoto's, while he put up the best WHIP and strikeout rate.
It just goes to show how jaw-dropping Sasaki was from the jump as a pro, and why MLB teams have been scouting him and trying to woo him to America since he was a teenager. Sasaki's combination of velocity, command and a wipeout splitter is truly unique, especially at his age; and if Ohtani and Yamamoto can dominate Major League lineups, there's no reason why Sasaki can't do the same, especially with the Dodgers' development team at his back.