After three long months out with a shoulder injury, Japanese rookie Roki Sasaki returned to the mound in the Dodgers’ victory over the Padres, an important win for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but one that left fans with bad feelings about the Japanese rookie’s performance.
Sosaki’s performance left more worries than certainties. Planned to pitch three innings, he only managed to complete two, in which he allowed three runs, six hits, one walk and no strikeouts.
In addition, his fastball, which was once his greatest weapon, registered just 90 mph, far from the figures he generated in Japan with the Chiba Lotte Marines
While it is true that coming off an injury it was to be expected that his performance would not be the best, Dodgers fans are beginning to lose patience and express it on social networks, as the expectations of the Los Angeles team’s followers for this season are high.
What happened to Roki Sasaki?
Sasaki‘s underperformance is not solely due to his injury, as even before it he was already showing signs of difficulty in adapting to MLB.
With an ERA of 4.72 and a worrying imbalance between strikeouts (24) and walks (22), his performance was not living up to the promise that his arrival represented, especially when the most immediate comparisons were with Japanese talents such as Shohei Ohtani or Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Jon Morosi criticizes Roki Sasaki’s performance
MLB Network analyst Jon Morosi has stated that although Roki Sasaki is a prospect with great potential, he is not yet ready to face the challenge of pitching in the major leagues:
Roki Sasaki is a prospect. He’s trying to get outs and succeed in the big leagues, but he’s clearly not ready yet.
He also hinted that his presence in the 2025 postseason is unlikely, especially considering the current depth in the Angels’ rotation, so the bet on Roki Sasaki is more medium-term than immediate future.
With figures like Yamamoto, Ohtani, Kershaw and Snell leading the rotation, and with Emmett Sheehan performing well after his return, the space to experiment and the margin for error is minimal.
The battle for the lead in the National League West Division against the Padres, who now lead the Dodgers by just one game (68-53), makes every appearance on the mound crucial.
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