Dodgers’ Roki Sasaki Expected to Be ‘Annual Cy Young Contender’
It’s safe to say that the Los Angeles Dodgers have won the offseason.
From retaining key players who stepped up in October like Teoscar Hernández and extending others like Tommy Edman, to acquiring four-time Gold Glove award winners like Hyeseong Kim from the Korea Baseball Organization, and even bringing in Cy Young award-winning pitcher Blake Snell, the defending champions significantly improved their roster.
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Then they agreed on a deal to sign Roki Sasaki after four illustrious seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball.
Dodger fans and players alike agree that signing the young phenom is going to lead to an amazing future of Dodger baseball.
While Dodger fans and players are excited about the right-hander coming to L.A., MLB insiders also agree that Sasaki has the potential to fulfill his desires on being one of the game’s greatest.
Other clubs have certainly been forced to take note on Sasaki’s lethal combination of a winning mindset, talent, and now joining a culture that is committed to excellence.
Per Fabian Ardaya and Will Sammon of The Athletic, an unnamed industry source said of Sasaki, “He reminds me of Jacob deGrom” and that, “He’d develop into a No. 1.”
Currently, Sasaki is not the ace in the Dodgers’ lethal rotation, but there isn’t much of a rush to get there. Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Shohei Ohtani would all be the No. 1 starting pitcher in any other rotation. The fact that they will all be in the mix for L.A., gives Sasaki time to develop into the rising star so many think he can be. The Dodgers will also have Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May returning to the mound in 2025 from injury.
ESPN Staff Writer Alden Gonzalez reported that with this kind of support, and Sasaki’s caliber of talent, he can one day be a perennial contender for the most-coveted award for pitching prowess.
“Within these next handful of years, several prominent evaluators believe, Sasaki could be an annual Cy Young contender,” Gonzalez wrote.
The 23-year-old has everything he needs to live up to the hype. His fastball that can hit above 100 mph helped him post a 2.10 ERA and 505 strikeouts against only 88 walks in 394.2 innings during his four NPB seasons.
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