Roki Sasaki made his return to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday in what was his first appearance on a Major League mound since May 9.
Sasaki spent most of the season on the 60-day injured list due to a right shoulder impingement, but it also gave him some time to reset both mentally and physically after early struggles.
Sasaki worked in relief, which is a role he shifted into at the conclusion of a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City, and the results have been impressive.
Most importantly, Sasaki’s fastball velocity is back to a place that will allow him to find success. On Wednesday, he averaged 99.2 mph with the fastball, up 3.2 mph from his season average, and touched 99.8 mph.
“The two biggest factors are knowing the fact that I’m healthy, and mechanically, just being able to finally find a place where I feel really confident with my mechanics,” Sasaki said through interpreter Will Ireton.
When making the jump from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) this past offseason, Sasaki prioritized finding a team that would be able to help him re-gain his velocity. After becoming a phenom with a heater that could reach the triple-digits, Sasaki’s velocity significantly dipped in 2024.
Sasaki said he focused on his lower-half mechanics, and also making sure his shoulder was moving the correct way to help him gain his velocity.
While he primarily relies on his fastball and splitter, he’s also mixed in a slider that he thinks may have been part of the reason for his issues.
“Just looking back, I think the bad habits I got from throwing a slider really affected my shoulder health as well as my velo,” Sasaki said.
If Sasaki can hold the velocity in the upper-90s and continue to throw strikes, it’s easy to see him becoming an impact reliever for the Dodgers, and potentially a starter again next season.
Both of those were issues for him early on, but his progress is incredibly encouraging.
Roki Sasaki compares starting to bullpen
Sasaki’s experience as a reliever is still limited to just three games, two on rehab and one at the Major League level. But in those outings, he has thrown three scoreless innings with five strikeouts to only one walk.
He has seemingly adapted to the role quickly, and credited the organization for helping him adjust.
“I just had to be creative in terms of preparing as a reliever,” Sasaki said. “It’s a shorter period of time to warm up, so that is something that’s probably the biggest difference.
“I’m just really appreciative of all the trainers and coaching staff that helped me get to where I am in terms of my health and mechanically. I feel like that’s really in a good place, and it allowed me to throw with pretty good command and really good velo.”
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