Right-hander Roki Sasaki has recently joined the Los Angeles Dodgers after not pitching since May, and is potentially close to rejoining the official roster.
Sasaki has been on the injured list with a shoulder impingement for over four months, but after his most recent rehab outing in Triple-A, he looks as sharp as he has since arriving in North America.
After upping his fastball 4.2 mph from his last start (averaging 98.6 mph) and hitting triple digits on the radar six times, manager Dave Roberts revealed that director of pitching Rob Hill has been in the lab with Sasaki and helping him reach his fullest potential.
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“Roki has kind of been on his own trying to get his feels and things like that. But he and Rob had a really good session and tapped into some velocity,” Roberts said.
The phenom from Japan struck out eight over 4.2 innings of work, generating 16 whiffs, a season high in both MLB and MiLB play.
“I think a lot of young, talented players just out-talent leagues and they don’t really need to make any type of adjustments. It happens with Americans, it happens with pitchers, with position players with a lot of young players. I just think it was something where he needed some suggestions for guidance and Rob was there and it worked out well.”
Perhaps the guidance is working, but the name of the game at this point is consistency. If Sasaki can keep this up, there is no reason why he wouldn’t be able to help out the Dodgers’ pitching staff.
With that being said, the starting rotation is at a bit of a different place than it was when Sasaki was last healthy. The sheer dominance LA’s starting pitchers have displayed lately, combined with abysmal bullpen play, has opened the conversation up to the idea of Sasaki pitching in relief upon his return.
“I think that Roki is … in a good place to do whatever it is to help the team,” Roberts said. “[Pitching out of the bullpen] would be something that would be completely odd to him so it would have to be a little bit of a leap of faith on his part as well.
“But I think that he understands how good the starting pitchers are pitching. He just wants to be a part of it. He’s worked really hard to get himself into a position to contribute.”
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Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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One Response
Maybe Hill could/should work with Tanner Scott on NOT locating his fastballs for strikes in EXACTLY the same spot in the zone every single time. When he absolutely has to throw a strike, he throws his 4S in the same spot. Not my observation, but that of Jim Palmer. Our last 3 losses were walk offs with Scott on the mound. 2 HRs and a 2 run base hit with the bases loaded.