After a spring performance that created more questions than provided answers, it was imperative that Roki Sasaki start his 2026 season on the right foot.
A 15.58 ERA in 8.2 innings of work during Spring Training doesn’t exactly warrant a spot in the rotation to begin the season, but Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts still had confidence in Sasaki entering the regular season.
While the 24-year-old’s rookie season wasn’t an overwhelming success, it was the perseverance he displayed that impressed Roberts.
“I think the thing that I learned most about him is he could’ve cashed in last year,” Roberts said. “Given his health early, the lack of performance toward the middle of the year, towards the end, he could’ve just written it off and started fresh in the offseason.
“But he was willing to pitch out of the bullpen, ramp back up and give us whatever we needed. So for me, that was something that he put himself out there. That’s why I have a lot of confidence in where he’s at right now, to turn the corner from Spring Training. If he would’ve run from that last year, that would’ve checked me up a little bit.”
Sasaki went four-plus innings in his first start of the season, allowing just one run on four hits while collecting four strikeouts and only issuing two walks.
“For me, I think it’s just more of being in the strike zone. Throughout Spring Training, there were a lot of bad misses. He wasn’t necessarily Yamamoto as far as precise command, but he was in the strike zone,” Roberts said of Sasaki’s step forward.
The command still left a lot to be desired, with only 34 of 78 pitches thrown for strikes. Still, Sasaki was able to keep individual innings and his outing as a whole from spiraling out of control.
The right-hander will have plenty of leash to start the season based on Roberts’ comments, but the Dodgers will have other starting options as the year progresses.
Roki Sasaki gained confidence
Sasaki admitted after his start that he was questioning himself prior to the game, but the positive momentum he built up with the outing has brought some confidence back.
Dalton Rushing also felt that the outing against the Guardians was a step in the right direction for his batterymate. Meanwhile, Roberts was particularly pleased with Sasaki’s body language in the first inning, an area in which he had struggled at times during Spring Training.
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