Yahoo Sports senior MLB analysts Jordan Shusterman and Jake Mintz look at the 2026 debut pitching for Roki Sasaki after a disastrous Spring Training. Hear the full dialog on the “Baseball Bar-B-Cast” podcast – and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you pay attention.
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Video Transcript
Yeah, he was manner higher than I or most individuals anticipated.
Roqui was coming off a disastrous spring coaching.
We’re speaking ERA that begins with a one and a 4.
No, a one and a 5.
He was terrible in spring.
He didn’t need to be in the rotation.
The Dodgers had been retaining him there partially out of loyalty for him selecting them in the first place, partially in order that I assume they might regulate him and assist him develop, they usually had been ready to try this as a result of the Dodgers are gonna fall ass backwards into 95 wins as a result of their staff is so good.
And so he rolled on the market, for his first begin, and I used to be texting folks like, “Hey, over under five and a half outs.”
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And Roqui was wonderful.
He labored into the fifth inning, accomplished 4.
There had been bouts of wildness.
I believe that if he was dealing with a greater lineup, it may have gone worse.
There had been a ton of non-competitive pitches.
But the massive growth for him was the introduction of a 3rd pitch that appears to be fairly sticky.
I believe he is gonna preserve that cutter round.
It’s an odd pitch.
It’s extra like up and down than you normally see from a cutter, however he simply wanted one other providing to maintain guys off stability, preserve them off the fastball and the cut up.
All issues thought-about, this was positively a step in the proper path.
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He seemed like a serious league pitcher, which he hadn’t in spring coaching, and he did not for giant swaths of final season.
Yeah, the, the third pitch is the whole lot.
Well, it isn’t the whole lot as a result of the fastball command nonetheless has to enhance, and he has to determine a manner to- Yeah land a splitter to a point as nasty as the motion actually is.
however that was a pitcher which you could work with.
Something tangible modified which you could construct off.
I believe that’s the significance of the cutter.
You’re not simply going again and attempting the similar factor time and again to, to no impact.
So I believe that was actually encouraging with Mr. Sasaki.
