The Los Angeles have roughly the first half of the season in regards to pitching injuries, but it appears there is some light at the end of the tunnel.
One of the most coveted players of this past offseason, Saga Roki has been out since May 13th and has recently moved to the 60-day injury list. This goes back to the front of the All-Star break and knocks on the door, but it should not be a negative indication as the 23-year-old recently resumed his slow program.
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Manager Dave Roberts provided the latest about Sasaki after he previously claimed that the team was planning a “life without him.” Sasaki has since resumed throwing from 60 or 90 feet per skipper.
“I don’t know if it’s 60 or 90 feet in baseball,” Roberts said. “It was a bonus. It was a plus. We chatted with him for a short time. He was excited about it.”
Roberts also spoke about how his right-handedness feels.
“You’re going to say there’s no pain,” Roberts said. “Now, it’s just a build-up. But most importantly, he’s not in pain.”
Sasaki, like many young pitchers, had ordered him to start his MLB career, posted an ERA 4.72 and struggled with throwing 24 strikeouts on 22 walks. Compared to his numbers in professional baseball in Japan, it was a time of 2.10 in four seasons with only 88 walks of fierce strikeouts – day and night.
Part of the reason Sasaki appears to be struggling was that his fastball speed was not the same as in Japan. The young pitcher revealed last month that he tried to pitch with “a few weeks” of pain, but did not tell his team until a recent start before landing on the list injured in a shoulder collision.
His average heater is still at 96 mph, suited to the 78th percentile of active pitchers, but the batter had a batting average of .253 through eight starts.
It means Sasaki has resumed his throwing, but what all fans can do at this stage is hopeful that he will continue to recover and be able to return to his NPB form in the uniform again.
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Photo credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Immagn Image
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