[MyDaily = Reporter Kim Kyung-hyun] Dismal results keep piling up
His fastball is electric, so why are the results so disappointing? Roki Sasaki of the Los Angeles Dodgers turned in another underwhelming outing.
On May 3 (KST), Sasaki started for the Dodgers at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, against the St. Louis Cardinals. He worked six innings, allowing five hits (one home run), three walks, four strikeouts and three runs, taking the loss to fall to 1-3 on the season.
On the surface, it wasn’t a bad outing — it was his first time reaching six innings this year and his first quality start (six-plus innings, three earned runs or fewer).
But he surrendered a big inning at a key moment, and his fastball was the culprit. With the game scoreless in the third, Sasaki allowed a leadoff double to Ivan Herrera, followed by an RBI double from Alec Burleson. Jordan Walker then ripped a two-run homer, and suddenly three runs had crossed the plate.
He didn’t allow any more damage and finished with a quality start, but the Dodgers’ offense couldn’t come through. Trailing late, Los Angeles rallied with two outs in the ninth, stringing together four hits to score two runs. With runners on first and second and two outs, Dalton Rushing struck out swinging against Riley O’Brien to end the game. The Dodgers fell, 2-3.
The fastball has been a problem. All five hits he allowed were on the heater, and four were for extra bases (three doubles and a homer). Sasaki topped out at 98.3 mph (about 158.2 km/h) and averaged 96.3 mph (about 155.0 km/h), but he failed to consistently overpower hitters.
U.S. outlet DodgersNation warned that if Sasaki wants to remain a Dodger starter, he has a major issue to solve: his fastball is creating problems on the mound, and that’s particularly concerning because it’s his most frequently used pitch.
This season Sasaki’s fastball has averaged 97.1 mph (about 156.3 km/h), which ranks in the top 12% of the league, according to Baseball Savant. His extension is 7.1 feet (about 2.2 m), placing him in the top 7% — he releases the ball out in front and generates elite velocity.
Yet the pitch’s effectiveness has lagged. Its run value sits at -8, putting it in the bottom 97% of the league. Hitters have a .395 batting average against his fastball this year, an expected batting average of .374 and an opposing slugging percentage of .767.
DodgersNation noted that despite maintaining high velocity, Sasaki often cannot command the pitch where he wants, and those command issues have produced statistically poor results.
The outlet added that if Sasaki can sharpen just his fastball command, he could develop into an excellent major-league starter. His fastball looks different in MLB than it did in NPB; if he learns to control it, it could become a pitch hitters struggle to handle. If he begins to recapture the form he showed in Japan, the Dodgers should feel much more comfortable using him in the rotation.
DodgersNation also warned that if he doesn’t fix the issue quickly, he risks falling behind in the rotation competition — especially with Blake Snell nearing a return.
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