Yahoo Sports senior MLB analyst Jake Mintz and senior MLB analyst Jordan Shusterman react to Roki Sasaki’s debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers and praise his impressive pitching through three innings to help the Dodgers finish with a 4-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Hear the full conversation on the “Baseball Bar-B-Cast” podcast – and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
The long awaited exhibition debut.
Of Roki Sasaki, the Japanese flamethrowing phenom, the envy of all.
Our first real glimpse happened on Tuesday evening as Roki came in out of the bullpen in the 5th inning for a 3 inning stint, 2 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts.
He looks like a turbocharged marionette falling down the mound.
There are limbs going everywhere, and then The ball comes jetting out of his hand at 98 miles an hour, and I think we should start there with the fastball, because that is the most important pitch for most pitchers.
It will be the most important pitch for Rokki Sasaki.
He threw it 54% of the time last night, 25 of them, and it.
98 miles an hour, a big storyline around Rokki Sasaki over the winter was that his 2024 season in NPB, his velocity had dipped a bit.
So let’s talk about his other offering, because this is the pitch that caught everybody’s attention.
For all the right reasons.
This is the pitch that was most hyped.
Now, this is not the first Japanese pitcher to come over and everyone talk about his splitter.
Sasaki’s is different, and because we have the data, we know just how different it is.
Now, you don’t actually need the data to know because if you watch it, you’re already like, hold on a second.
What was that?
For Sasaki, like, this pitch is bananas, like it’s bonkers, it’s as good as a pitch like this as we’ve really ever seen.
And it is a magic offering that is going to help him a great, great, great, great deal.
Last night was a great reminder of why he picked the Dodgers, I think, because of how unpolished and how much of a not finished product he is.
And I would trust the Dodgers as much as any other organization to get me from where I am to where I want to be, from a pitch design pitch development standpoint.
They did it in the middle of the season last year with a Japanese pitcher coming over with Yamamoto.
The track like the proof is right there in the pudding, and so I think last night was encouraging for Roki Sasaki’s career and like what I think he’s gonna be.
But I like, I do not expect him to win the Rookie of the year.
I do not expect him to be in the All-Star game.
I expect him to not work that deep into games until he develops that third pitch, but wow, what a freaking arm talent this is.
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