“Unraveling the Mystery: Is Dodgers Rookie Roki Sasaki the Next Pitching Phenomenon?”
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If Sasaki’s fastball continues to be more hittable in MLB than it was in NPB, the development of his slider will become paramount as an alternate means to coax whiffs, alongside his splitter. More broadly (and importantly), if Sasaki and the Dodgers can continue to refine his command, that should elevate the effectiveness of all three pitches as opposing batters are forced to respect his ability to locate them in the strike zone.
What’s next?
If we assume that Sasaki will remain on his start-every-Saturday schedule, his next outing will come this weekend against the Rangers at Globe Life Field, followed by a home start on April 26 against the lowly Pirates. Texas is a fascinating foe for Sasaki, as the Rangers’ offense currently ranks 30th in MLB in walk rate and has underperformed severely relative to the talented personnel in place. How Sasaki’s control issues manifest against a lineup that has thus far been relatively unwilling to take free passes will be interesting, and we’ll see if his pitch count continues to increase.
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