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Dodgers’ Roki Sasaki Shocks Fans with 97 MPH Sim Game Blaze Amid Mysterious Shoulder Recovery
Roki Sasaki made his return to the Dodger Stadium mound this past Friday, but honestly, we’re still scratching our heads on when we might actually see him pitch in a real game again. The Dodgers rookie managed a three-inning simulated outing, tossing to 46 batters—including outfielder Alex Call and several minor league hopefuls. According to the inside scoop from Dodger Blue, his fastball touched 96 to 97 mph, sprinkled with some 95 mph pitches as well. Not bad for a guy coming off a right-shoulder impingement that sidelined him since mid-May, right? There was uncertainty about whether he’d even take the mound this season, but the winds seem to be shifting toward a late-season comeback.
Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts chimed in post-simulation, revealing the team’s still debating whether Sasaki’s next move should be a rehab stint or just another simulated game. He noted a cleaner throwing motion—less “shoulder-y,” more polished—and acknowledged Sasaki’s still piecing together his mechanics. “He’s searching,” Roberts said, “asking the pitching coaches and figuring it out. We want him confident, comfortable, ready to attack hitters. We’re not there yet, but for three innings? Solid.”
Sasaki’s arrival last offseason stirred big excitement—he was pegged as a top NL Rookie of the Year contender. But those first eight starts? Let’s just say the hype didn’t quite match the results. Two glaring issues bubbled up: poor control and a fastball that, when it did find the strike zone, got hammered. Opponents slugged .494 off it. His walk rate? An eye-popping 14.3% — worst in all of MLB for qualified pitchers this year. Strikeout rate? A dismal 15.6%, landing near the bottom of the barrel. Plus, that electric triple-digit fastball from the 2023 World Baseball Classic seems like a distant memory. His heater’s been dipping, averaging 96 mph now and down to 94.8 mph in his last couple of starts.
Sasaki himself has been wrestling with the velocity drop, reportedly grilling every interested team on what they thought was behind it. Word is, when he returns, he’ll be aiming to crank the heat back up—and he might be unleashing a new fastball variant. The Dodgers’ pitching gurus, inspired partly by watching Shohei Ohtani and other major league hitters, have been working with Sasaki on a two-seam fastball, adding another weapon to his somewhat limited arsenal, which currently includes a four-seamer, slider and that famous splitter that still holds some magic despite his struggles.
As the story unfolds, the real question isn’t just when Sasaki returns but how much he’s evolved. Will this new pitch and refined approach unlock the sky-high potential he showed glimpses of? Only time—and that next outing—will tell.
Roki Sasaki was back on the mound at Dodger Stadium on Friday, though it remains to be seen when his next trip will be.
The Los Angeles Dodgers rookie threw a three-inning simulated game, with 46 pitchers against outfielder Alex Call and some of the team’s minor leaguers. Per Dodger Blue, his fastball velocity reached 96-97 mph, with some 95 mph pitches as well.
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Sasaki has been on the injured list since mid-May with a right-shoulder impingement. It was unclear if he would pitch again this season, but he’s now trending toward a return late in the season.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the sim game that the team was still figuring out if Sasaki’s next step is a rehab assignment or another sim game. He praised Sasaki’s delivery as looking cleaner, while also noting that he was still figuring some things out:
He’s more physical, I know he’s gained some weight. The throw wasn’t as shoulder-y, I think it’s a little bit more clean. He was still kind of searching, as far as asking the pitching coaches and things, and that’s what people do. We’re waiting for him to get to a point where he feels really comfortable and confident in his delivery and where he’s at, so he can attack the hitters. We’re not there yet, but I thought for a three-inning situation, solid.”
Sasaki joined the Dodgers last offseason as one of the most-hyped young arms in recent memory and the NL Rookie of the Year favorite, but the results lagged far behind the expectations in his first eight starts with the team.
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Beyond the question of when he comes back is how different of a pitcher he will be. He had two major problems in his first run: an enormous lack of control and a fastball that hitters crushed when he did manage to land it in the zone (they slugged .494 against it in total). His 14.3% walk rate would be the worst of any qualified pitcher in MLB this season, and his 15.6% strikeout rate would be the fourth-worst.
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At an average of 96.0 mph, Sasaki’s fastball wasn’t quite the triple-digit monster he showed back in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, when he threw 26 of his 29 fastballs for at least 100 mph. That velocity was trending down as well, with an average of 94.8 mph in his last two starts.
This has been a concern for Sasaki for a while, as his velocity was down last year too and he reportedly asked basically every team interested in him why they thought that happened. He will almost certainly be trying to throw harder when he comes back, and he will also reportedly be throwing a new fastball.
Roki Sasaki simply has to throw both harder and more accurately when he returns, with a new pitch in his arsenal too. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Christian Petersen via Getty Images)
As Roberts said Thursday, Sasaki has spent some of his rehab time working on a two-seam fastball:
“I think it’s probably a combination of the pitching coaches, probably watching Shohei [Ohtani], probably watching Major League hitters,” Roberts said. “To have two separate fastballs, one that potentially could miss a bit and one that could put a ball on the ground, those are two good weapons.
“I appreciate that Roki is open to the two-seamer as well.”
Sasaki has a fairly limited arsenal, with a four-seamer, slider and his famous splitter, which remained effective during his struggles. We’ll see if he’s ready to deploy it in games as he nears a return, and if it’s the missing piece that could unlock his still sky-high potential.
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