Roki Sasaki is expected to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation this season, but his early results in Spring Training have not inspired much confidence.
The right-hander has struggled in two Cactus League starts thus far, including an outing against the Cleveland Guardians last week that saw him fail to get out of the first inning before re-entering the game and finding some success.
Sasaki was able to build on his strong finish in a ‘B’ game against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday, allowing only one hit while collecting nine strikeouts in four scoreless innings. Sasaki had much better command, throwing 40 of his 59 pitches for strikes.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was encouraged by Sasaki’s performance and noted that his fastball sat in the 98-100 mph range, via Jack Vita of the L.A. Times:
“They said it was electric,” Roberts said after the Dodgers’ 4-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Camelback Ranch. “They said [he was touching] 98 to 100 [mph]. The fastball was spraying a little early, but then he locked it in. And then the split was on-play, short, lot of swing-and-miss. Couldn’t have asked for a better day.”
Sasaki did not face any Major League hitters in his start against the White Sox, but Roberts believes it was still a step in the right direction:
“There’s still value in getting hitters out and seeing guys swing and miss,” Roberts said. “I think we accomplished what we wanted to today, we built him up. Obviously, built up some confidence. So, just go from there.”
The Dodgers have to be pleased with Sasaki’s progress since he made a mechanical adjustment midway through his start against the Guardians. The 24-year-old will likely make two more outings before the Dodgers begin their regular season on March 26 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Roki Sasaki still on track to be part of Dodgers’ Opening Day starting rotation
Despite struggling at times this spring, Sasaki is still on track to be part of the Dodgers’ Opening Day starting rotation. His presence and potential success will be needed, as both Blake Snell and Gavin Stone are expected to begin the season on the injured list.
Sasaki should be part of a group that includes Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, and one of Emmet Sheehan, River Ryan or Justin Wrobleski.
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