2 days Ago By Billy Heyen
Los Angeles Dodgers fans are worried that Roki Sasaki might be hurt. Even if he isn't, his very early, small-sample-size trends are concerning in his first MLB season. Sasaki lasted just 1.
2 innings on Saturday against the Tigers. He allowed two runs and struck out two. The Japanese phenom walked four, one of the worrying trends.
The Tigers didn't chase as Sasaki tried to use his nasty stuff well outside the zone to induce swings-and-misses. Maybe even more concerning has been Sasaki's velocity. In his season debut in Japan, he averaged 99 miles per hour on his first inning fastballs.
On Saturday, Sasaki's fastball velocity was 96mph on average, still fast but the kind of decline that brings up concerns about stamina and health. Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp The Dodgers will likely continue to be uber-cautious with their latest big-name acquisition, and so far, their bats have done more than enough to win baseball games, anyway. But the L.
A. faithful are certainly hoping for Sasaki to be as good as advertised sooner rather than later. MORE MLB: Cardinals' Willson Contreras has an odd mid-at-bat snack Rafael Devers off to worst start to season in MLB history Shohei Ohtani's Dodgers pitching timeline gets key update Max Scherzer gets brutal injury update for Blue Jays Yankees make unbelievable home run history Aaron Judge has best-ever hitting game Yes, there really are two MLB players named Max Muncy.
