The Dodgers entered the season expecting Roki Sasaki to become a key piece of their rotation. After months of inconsistency, the 24-year-old appears to be delivering at exactly the right time.
In Sasaki’s past four starts, he’s allowed just five runs (four earned) in 24.1 innings with 29 strikeouts to five walks.
The best outing of his young career came against the Los Angeles Angels on June 5. The right-hander dominated for seven innings, striking out a career-high 10 hitters. Freddie Freeman turned that impressive effort into a win with a walk-off home run in the ninth.
“This is the guy we saw on video in Japan and that we hoped to get,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts on SportsNet LA’s postgame coverage. “I think we’re all guilty of expecting it to be seamless, and certainly unfair to Roki. He went through some tough times and some doubts, but he’s gotten to the other side.”
Roki Sasaki Breakout Happening at Perfect Time for Dodgers
Roki Sasaki’s breakout is coming at the perfect time for the Dodgers, whose rotation is down multiple starters. Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are on the injured list, with not much certainty when they’ll be back. Despite that, the club carries an MLB-best 1.99 ERA from its rotation since May 13.
The Dodgers have kept Sasaki in their six-man rotation, despite the struggles. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman expressed belief that the right-hander would break through. Friedman sees a potential elite starter in Sasaki, which is why he stressed patience. Now, the Dodgers’ faith in the right-hander is paying off, and their rotation is more formidable than ever.
Currently, the Dodgers are fielding a starting six of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki, Justin Wrobleski, Emmet Sheehan, and Eric Lauer.
With Sasaki taking the next step, the Dodgers already have enough starter depth to get through the season. The return of Glasnow and Snell will help, but they can also lean on River Ryan for extra depth if necessary.
What’s Causing Roki Sasaki’s Breakout?
The two key components behind Sasaki’s breakout are better fastball velocity and the tweaking of his splitter. Sasaki has averaged more than 98 MPH in his last two starts, including a season-high 98.5 against the Angels.
But perhaps the more important development was throwing a harder, sharper splitter. In his last two starts, he’s averaging north of 90 MPH on the pitch. He got up to 92.8 when striking out Angels superstar outfielder Mike Trout.
Early in the season, he was throwing more of a splitter/forkball hybrid that made the pitch easier to identify. However, by adapting his current splitter, it tunnels better with his four-seamer.
“The split now, ironically, is to the velocity that he used to be in Japan,” said Roberts. “There is an adjustment with the [MLB] ball that he had to make with the grip. Now, it’s 90, 91.”
The fastball and splitter combination has overpowered hitters, although he’ll mix in an occasional deathball slider to righties as well.
The strong results have also contributed to a more confident demeanor on the mound. That in itself plays a role in the right-hander’s growing comfort.
The Dodgers will almost certainly add talent at the trade deadline, but their biggest addition may already have happened. If Sasaki’s recent adjustments stick, Los Angeles could have the frontline starter it envisioned when it brought him over from Japan.
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