Roki Sasaki has arrived, and he came as advertised.
The 23-year-old Japanese pitching phenom made his first spring training appearance for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night, and was absolutely dominant. He flashed the kind of elite stuff that made him the most coveted pitcher on the market this winter.
Sasaki followed countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who went four innings against the Cincinnati Reds. The rookie entered in the fifth and tossed three innings. He wasn’t perfect, as he allowed a double to Elly De La Cruz and a single by Austin Wynns, while walking Christian Encarnacion-Strand and hitting Stuart Fairchild. But around that, he looked phenomenal.
In his three innings, Sasaki struck out five batters, while hitting 99 mph on his fastballs and flashing a nasty splitter and a really good slider that is likely to improve. His fastball averaged 98 mph and he got eight swings and misses.
To any MLB fans who were mad when Sasaki picked the Dodgers, tonight did nothing to quell that anger. He’s yet another elite piece for a loaded pitching rotation that includes Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw and, at some point, Shohei Ohtani.
