Dodgers’ prized offseason acquisition Roki Sasaki has struggled mightily to begin his MLB career. The former phenom from Japan entered this season as MLB’s top prospect and skipped the minor leagues, jumping straight to the Majors.
A rough first few games
Roki Sasaki began his season against the Cubs in his home country of Japan. In Game 2 of that series, he walked five batters in three innings. Luckily for him, the Cubs were unable to do much damage, registering just one run from those five walks.
Unfortunately, his next start against the Tigers was even worse. Sasaki went just 1.2 innings, surrendering 4 walks, 3 hits, and 2 earned runs. The Dodgers were able to rally and win, but he did not put them in a position to succeed with that line.
While the sample size is low, it’s worth pointing out that Sasaki has a 5.79 ERA, 2.786 WHIP, and nearly double the number of walks as strikeouts.
A changing environment
When asked about his Slow start by ESPN, Sasaki responded with, “I don’t expect myself to be able to fix everything in a short period of time. With that being said, though, I am going to be pitching every week, so I do expect, as a major league pitcher, to be able to put up quality outings. But it’s something I can expect myself to work on throughout.”
Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts seems confident in Sasaki’s ability to bounce back. He was quoted saying, “Roki, throughout his entire career, has been a command guy. He doesn’t walk, guys, and he fills the strike zone. I think that right now, where he’s at, there are some new surroundings. He wants to impress; he wants to pitch well. He’s out there competing, and right now, it’s just not syncing up.”
It sounds like his manager is giving him the benefit of the doubt for his early struggles, given his new environment.
Hope remains
I would also be hesitant to push the panic alarm on the 23-year-old. Early signs have not been good, but the Major League is a whole different beast when it comes to the quality of hitters. Additionally, given Sasaki’s incredible movement on his pitches, it may take a second for him to corral them and throw them for strikes consistently.
Sasaki is no doubt used to the smaller, sticker, and easier to control baseballs found in the NPB. This is yet another adjustment being made on the fly by the Rikuzentakata native.
That being said Sasaki never struggled throwing strikes in the NPB. His career K/BB ratio before this season was 5.29/1. That number would have ranked him seventh in the Major Leagues last season, just behind Chris Sale, who won the Cy Young award. He managed those superb numbers with a smaller strike zone than MLB offers.
The Dodgers will be plenty patient with Sasaki this season. He does not need to be the mythical figure he was in Japan to contribute meaningfully to the defending champs. It’s been an unexpected start for Sakai in Dodger blue, yet despite his struggles, the Dodgers remain a perfect 5-0.
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