Dodgers’ Roki Sasaki set for MLB debut: Four things to know about Japanese righty ahead of first outing

The main baseball season of the main league is going on with whom Los Angeles Dodger is the first game of Tokyo Series against Chicago Cubs. Both sides will be convened on Wednesday at 6 AM and Tokyo at 6 pm. When they do it, it will mean a Dodgers Right-Hard debut, one of the most expected remittances to Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League.

23-year-old Sasaki became the last Japanese star, which joined Dodgers when he received a bonus worth $ 6.5 million in January. Sasaki, as well as in the country, along with Shoheyi Ohani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, will now be assigned to help Dodgers become MLB The first to repeat the champion for two decades.

Fans return to winter Saturday, can be surprised. In any case, what is the big deal? Below we have answered it and three other big questions about Dodgers’ the latest star.

1: Why is SASaki remarkable?

Sasaki has been global radar since April 1022, when he hit 19 fighters in about three decades. He then gave eight perfect circle to start his next beginning, thus retired a record layer of 52 consecutive fighters.

By the way, Sasaki was only 20 years old at the time … and he was already owned by three-digit fastball. Hype car could be built at that moment.

Sasaki struggled in four seasons in four ways of his four ways, atmospheric how prevailed when he heard and persecuted. To pursue, he has earned a career 2.10 era and 5.74 strike-hike ratio in 69. Its 26.8% blow-minus-minus-step-step is best to move to MLB in the last Japanese pitchers, as far as only one peer, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, has even been cleared.

2. How did he end up with the Dodgines?

Sasaki is posted on MLB’s focus last winter by Chiba Lotk by Marines. The MLB transmission agreement with NPB requires that players meet a certain age and service time to avoid a “amateur” free agent (restricting their earnings).

Sasaki did not satisfy that qualification, and as such was limited to what the team was only in his bonus pool. Money is not necessarily the driving force behind its free agency that it is in many cases. It is clear why Sasaki will choose Dodgers (on blue Jays and Padres, the other two will report to the finalists).

3: How did he go this spring?

Two applications have submitted two applications during the Sasaki Cactus League. The first as part of a multi-relief is the second as a start. In general, he allowed three hits and distributed three steps to seven fighters after burning seven pointless circles.

Moreover, the Fries of Sasaki was 97.1 miles / hours, and he created 10 square meters, 12 pendulums against his signature splitter.

4. What to expect to move forward?

Sasaki works hard on paper in his favor. He combines the average speed of the upper-90s with a devastating splitter and a good sledge that he has not used to date. He also has high-ranking superiority, which comes from the release consistent point. There are two basic questions that will determine his career.

First of all, can Sasaki stay healthy? He never jumped for 130 seconds for up to 130 seconds, and he was limited to 33 combined, starts in the last two years. It is fair to wonder how to keep the body of Sasaki now, when he is asked to leave one fifth day, once a week, like NPB.

Second, Sasaki’s speed last year slightly weakened. It is noteworthy here because his fastball otherwise stands out as to the industry as a “Dead Zone” movement profile. According to Layman, it means that his quick is easier for fighters visually, as it becomes almost as vertical as horizontal. Poghos Skenes, Hunter Greene and Nathan Erovaldi, are other cases of active pitchers with a dead zone that have made it work (different degrees), so Sasaki should be able to succeed in his reputation.