Roki Sasaki is ready to go to the majors. Everybody remembers him from the WBC the World Baseball Classic. He gained popularity when he nearly pitched two perfect games in a row back in April 2022. On his next start, he nearly pitched another perfect game, going 8 innings. To see how special it was put into perspective, the April 10th start was only the 16th perfect game in NPB history and the first since 1994 when Hiromi Makihara did it.
At such a young age, Roki Sasaki is setting records. During those two starts, he set the NPB milestone of retiring 52 batters consecutively. To put that into perspective, the MLB record is 46, a record set by Yusmeiro Petit. He also holds the fastest pitch throne by a Japanese player in the NPB.
The young man from Rikuzentakata in Iwate prefecture was born in 2001. He was named after a manga character that aired in the same year.
What I like about Roki Sasaki is his presence on the mount. He's well-composed and knows how to hit the strike zone.
In his first five starts of 2024, he pitched well over 100 pitches per outing except for the March 31st start when he pitched 95 throws. The main difference is the velocity of his fastballs which went down to 96 mph on average rather than 99 to 100 mph.
This version of Roki Sasaki in 2024 is not like the Roki Sasaki of 2021, 2022, and 2023 because he seems to incorporate a new pitch in his arsenal, a slider. He also Incorporated a forkball in the high 80s, which made him a more complete pitcher.
Even despite this start against anyone have takers on May 10th suffered his worst outing in which he allowed eight hits, five runs, and five walks, and only struck out four hitters with a pitch count of 123 pitches. I do not understand how anyone or any coach can allow a pitcher to go up there for that many pitches. You simply rarely see that in MLB unless the pitcher is on pace to pitch a no-hitter.
Roki Sasaki is having a weird season, as there had been speculation of him taking it easy and faking an injury so he can prepare for the MLB next year, as he had expressed interest in wanting to be posted as early as the 2024 offseason. He is currently 22 years old, meaning he will only be 23 when he plays his first MLB game. That is assuming everything comes to play and he plays for an MLB team in 2025.
He is a once-in-a-generation talent who is poised to be one of the most prolific pitchers in MLB, but he is so young that it is important to remember he still needs guidance. The team that signs him will be signing him on an amateur contract, similar to what Shohei Ohtani received when he signed with the Angels. If he waits after the age of 25, he could be signing a contract exceeding 300 million, probably eclipsing the contract Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed.
I could see a scenario in which he signs with a team that already has a Japanese player. The Dodgers are being thrown into the conversation. The Yankees as well as the Mets. In the East, the Mets would be ideal since Kodai Senga will be able to help him with culture expectations and probably provide him with a couple of tips on how to approach MLB hitters. With the Dodgers, he will have Yamamoto and Ohtani, of course. But, it would be far-fetched to have three Japanese players on one team. For the longest time, it was common courtesy for Japanese players not to sign with a team already having a Japanese player. Nobody truly knows the actual reason for this, but they speculate that it was for courtesy purposes: Japanese players did not want to impede on their compatriots' territory.
Limiting the speed of his pitches was a practical decision regarding the longevity of his career. Keeping up the pace of pitching 100+ mph every time would have been very difficult to do for anyone without damaging their arm at a faster rate than normal. Expecting him to be a fastball and splitter pitcher for the rest of his career would have been a risky move.
To see Roki in MLB will be quite a spectacle. Whether it is next year or the next or the next, the moment he makes his debut, I am certain, it will be pretty electric.
彼が挑戦を望むなら、大きな市場としてのヤンキースは最高のチームだ。
ReplyDelete