Roki Sasaki, one of the most hyped MLB prospects in recent memory, made his spring training debut on Tuesday for the Los Angeles Dodgers. His velocity was as advertised.
In three scoreless innings, the Monster of the Reiwa Era allowed two hits, walked one, hit a batter and struck out five against the Cincinnati Reds. He appeared in relief of countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who allowed two hits in four innings.
Per Baseball Savant, Sasaki averaged 98.0 mph on 25 four-seam fastballs and topped out at 99.3, while also throwing 18 splitters and three sliders. Hitters had trouble with all three offerings.
Of Sasaki’s eight whiffs, seven were on the splitter, which is widely thought to already be one of the best pitches in the world. Those seven whiffs were on eight swings from batters.
Paul Skenes topped all MLB pitchers with at least 1,500 pitches last season with a four-seamer that averaged 98.8 mph, meaning Sasaki sat at a velocity that would already be among MLB’s best. However, that speed was still short of the violence Sasaki inflicted the 2023 World Baseball Classic, where he topped 100 mph in 26 of 29 fastballs in his debut.
Regaining that 2023 velocity after a (relatively) down 2024 is enough of a priority for Sasaki that he asked all of his free agent suitors to explain why they thought he lost it and how he could get it back. The Dodgers ended up winning, and that effort is still apparently a work in progress.
Sasaki’s velocity wasn’t completely overwhelming, though. Two batters actually managed to get around it and would have hit a home run, had they not pulled it too much. The transition from NPB batters to MLB batters, who are much more used to triple-digit heat, will be the crux of Sasaki’s rookie year.
