Roki Sasaki's control issues and 3 more overreactions from Tokyo Series between Cubs, Dodgers

The Tokyo Series gave Roki Sasaki, one of this past offseason's prizes, a chance to make his MLB debut in comfortable territory. Sasaki pitched for four seasons in the NPB, so it only made sense for him to debut in a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform in Japan.

The results of Sasaki's debut were mixed, to put it simply. The right-hander flashed dynamic stuff throughout his outing, and wound up allowing just one run on one hit with three strikeouts in three innings of work, but he also issued five walks, showcasing shaky command. Oftentimes, when a pitcher issues five walks in three innings, he'll allow more than one run, so Dodgers fans have reason to feel a bit uneasy after this Sasaki start.

With that being said, though, this was Sasaki's first start in an MLB uniform. The command issues were evident, but he's known to have solid control of his pitches. He issued just 2.0 walks per nine in Japan, and issued three walks in seven innings of work in his first two spring training appearances. It's entirely possible that the combination of nerves and Sasaki still getting acclimated to a different baseball impacted him.

Kodai Senga issued at least three walks in 10 of his first 12 MLB outings after coming over from Japan, and finished his debut season issuing three or more walks in just five of his last 17 appearances. His command improved as the season progressed, and it wouldn't be shocking to see the same thing happen with Sasaki. This was just one start, at the end of the day.

Sasaki's struggles were just one of several areas where Dodgers and Chicago Cubs fans are probably overreacting after this two-game series.

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3. Overreaction: The Tokyo Series proved that the Dodgers are unbeatable

All MLB fans heard all offseason was that the Dodgers are unbeatable, and it's hard to blame those who do feel that way. The Dodgers won the 2024 World Series handily despite a bevy of injuries, and followed that up with a monster offseason, landing Sasaki, Blake Snell, Tanner Scott, and Kirby Yates while also re-signing Teoscar Hernandez. The rich got substantially richer over the winter.

Despite being without Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman in this series, and despite not receiving a single inning from either Blake Snell or Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers swept a Cubs team that is favored to win the NL Central.

While this is obviously encouraging for Los Angeles, it's hard to make the proclamation that they're unbeatable. The Cubs only managed to score four total runs in the two games, but they also went a combined 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position. They stranded 15 runners on base, 11 of which came in Wednesday's contest. They had many opportunities to score runs, but came up short. That's going to happen in baseball. Getting as much traffic on the base paths as the Cubs did, particularly on Wednesday, proved that the Dodgers are not impossible to score against - timely hitting just eluded them.

Are the Dodgers the favorite? Of course. They not only have the most talented roster in the sport, but they also just won the World Series. Still, there's a reason the games are played. For the most part, the Cubs were toe-to-toe with Los Angeles. Had Jon Berti not thrown a ball away in the first game and the Cubs found ways to score with traffic on the bases in the second game, we might be discussing entirely different outcomes.

2. Overreaction: The Tokyo Series proved that Matt Shaw isn't ready

Sasaki wasn't the only player to make his debut in the Tokyo Series. The Cubs not only had their top prospect, Matt Shaw, in the starting lineup, but he was batting fifth in the order in each of the two contests. The Cubs believe Shaw is their best option to play third base, and believe his bat is impactful enough to hit directly in the heart of the order.

Unfortunately, Shaw's debut came a bit short of expectations. The 23-year-old went 1-for-9 in the two games and struck out four times. Shaw also committed a throwing error in the first game, stranded five runners on base in the second game, and ended each game at the plate. To make matters worse, Shaw's only hit was on a softly hit comebacker that could've easily been ruled an error.

It wasn't great at all, but are we really going to sit here and say definitively that Shaw isn't ready after just two games? This is a player who got a late start to spring training due to an oblique issue, and was making his MLB debut on the national stage against the defending champions facing an immense amount of pressure.

I will say it's entirely possible Shaw isn't ready. The Cubs undoubtedly were very aggressive with his promotion, considering he only has one full season of professional experience under his belt, but it's really hard to say anyone isn't ready after just two games. Give Shaw time to adjust before making any definitive statements.

1. Overreaction: The Tokyo Series proved it's time to panic about Kyle Tucker

The Cubs made perhaps the biggest splash on the trade market over the offseason, acquiring Kyle Tucker in a deal with the Houston Astros. They took on the risk of knowing Tucker could wind up departing after the year when he hits free agency, and gave up a ton to acquire him. The deal still made a ton of sense, knowing that Tucker is an MVP-caliber player that the Cubs were adding.

Unfortunately, Tucker's Cubs career hasn't gotten off to the start fans were expecting. Tucker went 1-for-23 in spring training, 0-for-4 in Chicago's exhibition game against the Hanshin Tigers, and 1-for-8 in the Tokyo Series.

As disappointing as his start has been, Tucker has played in two games that count while wearing a Cubs uniform. He's going to be just fine and have the year Cubs fans expect him to. He even gave Cubs fans a little something to look forward to by hitting a ringing double off the left field wall in his final at-bat on Wednesday.

He could be what gets Chicago back to the postseason for the first time in a full season since 2018.