At long last, Japanese superstar Roki Sasaki has made his first official MLB start, and in his home country of all places to christen his new journey. For everyone who watched the WBC in 2023, this was a moment we’ve been waiting two years for: Having a young fireballer that can top 100 mph with his heater and offset it with a superb splitter finally arrive in the majors is a momentous occasion. But Sasaki's first outing of the regular season with the Los Angeles Dodgers was a bit of a mixed bag.
Sasaki’s first inning against the Cubs was phenomenal. He consistently hit 99 mph in an 11-pitch, 1-2-3 inning, striking out Seiya Suzuki on a 99.3 mph fastball to collect his first strikeout. The second inning saw his velocity drop and control problems arise. Sasaki issued two walks but escaped the inning on double-play ball off the bat of Pete Crow-Armstrong.
In the third inning, Sasaki gave up a one-out single followed by three walks. He would strikeout Kyle Busch and Matt Shaw to end the inning, limiting the damage to just one run. It was then that manager Dave Roberts figured he would end Sasaki’s first outing on a high note, but not without some dissent.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Roki Sasaki wasn’t pleased with being pulled after just three innings
According to Roberts, Sasaki wanted to stay in longer. The Dodger skipper had this to say after the game:
"I think there were nerves, and understandably so. The velocity was good, but I thought the emotions, the adrenaline, was hard to rein in. ... The highs are going to be high, and when he's not commanding it, it gets a little bit tricky. I do want to say he wanted to stay in the game. That's a decision I made in the best interest of him, but he wanted to keep going."
The 23-year-old Japanese ace has never pitched more than 129.1 innings in a single season. All precautions should be taken for a pitcher who consistently throws heat above 98 mph as injuries often occur to hard-throwing hurlers. And when we factor in Sasaki’s lack of full-season experience, keeping Sasaki healthy should be a top priority.
Sasaki has already dealt with unspecified arm injuries during his latest campaign with the Chiba Lotte Marines. While Sasaki’s perseverance is encouraging, it seems Roberts made the right call in pulling him, especially at this point in the season.