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Dodgers’ Sasaki Unlikely for World Baseball Classic, Focus Remains on Progress
Table of Contents
- 1. Dodgers’ Sasaki Unlikely for World Baseball Classic, Focus Remains on Progress
- 2. A Rocky Start to an MLB Career
- 3. Dodgers Prioritize Long-Term Growth
- 4. Projected Rotation and Future Outlook
- 5. how will the addition of Kyle Tucker and Edwin Diaz impact the Dodgers’ pitching rotation centered around snell and Yamamoto?
- 6. Dodgers Add Tucker and Diaz as Pitching Rotation Focuses on Snell and Yamamoto
- 7. Offensive Boost with Tucker and Diaz
- 8. Prioritizing Pitching Depth: beyond the Stars
- 9. Snell and Yamamoto: Anchors of the Rotation
- 10. the importance of a Deep Bullpen
- 11. Dodgers’ Pitching Development system
- 12. Historical Context: Dodgers’ pitching Success
- 13. Managing Workload and Preventing Injuries
Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki is not anticipated to participate in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. The 2023 season marked Sasaki’s Major League Baseball debut, but was hampered by both performance and injury. He appeared in just 10 games, pitching 36 1/3 innings, before being sidelined from April through September with a shoulder impingement.
A Rocky Start to an MLB Career
Sasaki’s initial foray into the majors saw some growing pains. Despite showcasing flashes of potential, he struggled with command, walking five batters while only recording six strikeouts across 10 2/3 postseason innings.His performance presented a contrast to his dominant career in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), where he routinely overpowered hitters.
Dodgers Prioritize Long-Term Growth
Dodgers management continues to view Sasaki as a future starting pitcher. Manager Dave Roberts recently emphasized this plan,noting the need for Sasaki to refine a third pitch to complement his fastball and splitter. Sasaki relied heavily on those two offerings last season, utilizing his fastball approximately 50% of the time and his splitter around 30%, with a low-80s breaking ball used roughly 16% of the time.
However, President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman has downplayed the urgency of adding a third pitch. Friedman believes Sasaki’s success in NPB was built on mastery of two pitches, and that improved execution could yield similar results in MLB.He pointed to mechanical inconsistencies and a slight dip in velocity last season as key areas for improvement, suggesting that enhancing pitch-making ability is equally crucial to adding another weapon.
Projected Rotation and Future Outlook
Looking ahead, the Dodgers envision sasaki potentially fitting into the back end of their starting rotation. If healthy, the projected rotation includes stars like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, and Shohei Ohtani alongside veterans Tyler Glasnow and Emmet Sheehan.
