Even before Roki Sasaki made his introduction to an American audience during the 2023 World Baseball Classic, the phenom from Japan was regarded by many as the world’s best pitcher.
On Tuesday, Reds hitters and MLB fans got a chance to see why.
Sasaki — who followed Shohei Ohtani’s lead in posting early from Japan’s NPB — signed with the Dodgers after a nearly league-wide recruitment this offseason. The Dodgers planned to ease the 23-year-old into Cactus League action, having him throw some practice innings on the backfields. But on Tuesday, Sasaki finally had an opportunity to face MLB hitters in a real spring training environment.
It was electric.
Sasaki pitched three shutout innings, striking out five and allowing just two hits and a walk. His fastball topped off at 99, but he’s shown the ability to hit 102 mph in Japan. His splitter, though, was especially nasty and a main reason for his 87 percent whiff rate on the night.
At times, the Reds just looked lost out there against him.
Reds hitters summed the experience up perfectly via ESPN:
“Nasty,” Austin Hays said.
“Heavy,” TJ Friedl said.
“Electric,” Austin Wynns said.
MLB fans were also extremely impressed with Sasaki’s first Cactus League outing.
