Roki Sasaki was the focal point of attention at Camelback Ranch on Wednesday afternoon. As he faced hitters for the first time in Los Angeles Dodgers spring training, just weeks after his highly publicized signing, the 23-year-old Japanese pitching sensation found himself under intense scrutiny, with curious eyes following his every move.
The ensuing 27 pitches offered limited insight into the current state of Sasaki’s undeniably talented, yet still developing repertoire. Furthermore, they provided little indication of how smoothly his transition to Major League Baseball might progress this season.
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For the man himself, he was unfazed by the attention, focused on the task at hand.
“I did feel that today went better than I felt in my bullpens,” Sasaki said through an interpreter afterward. “Facing hitters for the first time using a major league ball, and pitching in a game environment for the first time in a while, I was just sort of feeling out how it would go, getting used to being back in the flow of a game.”
Roki Sasaki Faces 8 Hitters, Across 2 Innings for Los Angeles Dodgers
During his live batting practice session, Roki Sasaki faced eight hitters across two simulated innings. He recorded two strikeouts, first catching infielder David Bote, a six-year MLB veteran in camp on a minor-league contract, looking at a called third strike. He then struck out outfielder Eddie Rosario, another non-roster invitee with a decade of MLB experience, with consecutive pitches featuring his signature splitter.
“The splitter moves a lot,” Rosario said. “I saw one move to the outside side, and one move to the inside side. It’s good.”
“For his first live BP,” Bote said, “I don’t think it could’ve gone any better.”
Sasaki gave up two line drives, one to Bote and the other to utilityman Tommy Edman, both off of fastballs.
“I was excited to get in there and see what all his pitches moved like,” Edman said. “He’s got a good fastball obviously, everybody knows about. I was curious to see what his splitter did. It’s got a lot of movement, a lot of action on it. His stuff looks really good. I know it’s going to play at this level for sure.”
While Sasaki issued one walk during the session, he expressed overall satisfaction with his command. Although he wasn’t certain of his precise fastball velocity—a key focus in camp, given that it had decreased from 98-99 mph earlier in his career to 96-97 mph in his final season in Japan—he felt it had increased compared to his previous bullpen sessions.