The Los Angeles have big plans for Saga Roki, but they aren’t as big as the goals they set for themselves when selecting the MLB team to call this past offseason.
The 23-year-old genius had been shaking batsmans in professional baseball in Japan for four seasons before choosing to come to MLB. His arrival had a bit of a transition period, but his otherworldly splitter still has promises and could potentially grow into one of the best in the game.
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His most recent outing on Friday produced no strikeouts in four innings as Sasaki allowed five runs, five hits and two walks.
Manager Dave Roberts confidently said that Sasaki is here to stay in the majors and that his trip to Triple A was not included in the Phenom card.
“At this point, I don’t think there’s a minor league stint in our minds,” Roberts said. “But I think learning here is incredibly valuable.”
Sasaki has learned a lot on the spot, and the difference between MLB and NPB shows obvious differences through the right-handed 4.72 ERA this season, compared to the 2.10 mark in Japan.
“There’s nothing more impactful than going through a certain experience. He’s going through some struggles now,” Roberts said. “Major League batters will tell you what adjustments you need to make. The coach can tell you things. He can think of a few things. But in the end… you can make adjustments and adjust based on how the batter reacts.
Another major issue is Sasaki’s normal triple girders’ slowdown in speed. His last two starts only pulled an average of 94.8 mph on his heater.
Perhaps these are the growth pains that the younger pitcher has to work on the show, but I hope that the confidence of his manager, who plans to keep him in the dugout, will be rewarded in the form of increased commands during his next start.
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Photo credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Immagn Images
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