Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki was a superstar in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the premier league in his home country of Japan. However, the right-hander has had less success since graduating to MLB.
Sasaki is a two-time NPB All-Star and holds the league’s single-game strikeout record (19) and the world record for consecutive strikeouts in a single game (13). The 6-foot-2, 187-pounder achieved both accomplishments during his perfect game on April 10, 2022.
Sasaki signed with the Dodgers in January 2025 and was named MLB’s top prospect entering the season, per MLB Pipeline. The 24-year-old then pitched just 10 games (eight starts) in the regular season due to a shoulder injury, logging a 4.46 ERA. He made nine appearances as a reliever in the playoffs after that, notching a 0.84 ERA.
Sasaki returned to starting in spring training this year and allowed 15 earned runs across 8.2 innings. Despite the hurler’s struggles, Los Angeles is keeping him in the rotation for now. Manager Dave Roberts explained the decision on Monday, per The Athletic’s Katie Woo.
“We’re going to run him out there. So for me to put my head in a space that there’s another alternative right now, that’s not helpful,” he said. “We’re going to support him as much as we can, and then give him some runway, and then, you know, once the season starts, then it’s about production.”