Roki Sasaki Fires 99 MPH Heat in Dodgers Return—Is He LA’s Secret Postseason Weapon?

The Los Angeles Dodgers might need simply found a well timed aid thrower. Rookie aid pitcher Roki Sasaki threw an ideal inning of aid Wednesday night towards the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was activated from the 60-day injured listing.

The 23-year-old right-hander made no delay in displaying his electrical stuff, retiring all three batters he encountered. He blasted two, together with Ildemaro Vargas on a scorching 99 mph fastball, and departed with the Dodgers having fun with a 3-1 benefit.

Testing Sasaki in a Bullpen Role

While Sasaki began the season as a starter, supervisor Dave Roberts confirmed the membership will carry on using him in aid for the rest of the common season, based on ESPN. The concept is to see how efficient he’s in shorter stints and if he could be of use through the playoff push.

“Giving everything he has for an inning or two at a time. “That’s sort of what I see. Let the efficiency play out. Just go after guys and be on the assault.”

Sasaki’s appearance was particularly opportunistic, arriving as it did just one night after closer Tanner Scott had blown a save in a 5-4 loss to Arizona.

Rocky Rookie Season For the Japanese Righty

Signed in January as an international free agent from Japan’s Chiba Lotte Marines, Sasaki arrived in Major League Baseball with monumental hype. The Dodgers shelled out a $6.5 million signing bonus under MLB’s posting system to acquire him for Los Angeles.

But his transition has not been smooth. In nine games this year, eight of them starts, Sasaki has gone 1-1 with a 4.58 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 35⅓ innings. He also worked in Triple-A Oklahoma City, where his problems persisted with a 6.10 ERA in seven appearances.

Although those statistics, at first glance, may seem daunting, the Dodgers are optimistic that his top-end velocity and strikeout ability can play in a relief role, particularly when every out matters in October.

Establishing Chemistry With Other Japanese Stars

Sasaki is one of three Japanese players on the Dodgers’ roster at present, including two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani and righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He provides more depth and global flavor to a team that already features so much star power.

Sasaki’s return also came at the time of roster reshuffling. Seasoned reliever Kirby Yates was put on the injured list for a nagging hamstring injury, backdated to Sept. 21, and Sasaki found the opportunity to fill in.

Ohtani is presently underneath Roberts’ experiment. The LA supervisor is planning to make use of him within the bullpen. Shohei mentioned that he’s open to being a aid pitcher.

While Sasaki’s rookie 12 months has had its challenges, his clear inning on Wednesday confirmed a glimpse of the dominance the Dodgers hoped for after they signed him. If he can replicate that type over the approaching video games, he might carve out an necessary bullpen function within the postseason.

According to Sports Illustrated, Sasaki’s fastball averaged 97.5 mph throughout their Sunday outing. Roberts is hopeful they may use the rookie successfully within the subsequent matches.