Roki

Sasaki

Sasaki was able to blank the Rockies over three innings despite dealing with some traffic, but things fell apart in the fourth and fifth. The right-hander ended up allowing seven hits while issuing two more walks and striking out two. There are a smorgasbord of potential replacements for Sasaki in the Dodgers’ rotation. How much more patience will they show? There’s so much long-term potential for Sasaki, but he can’t be trusted right now. He’s scheduled to face the Cubs over the weekend.

Sasaki had quality stuff in Sunday’s loss, which isn’t a surprise. He was able to procure 15 swings and misses among his 94 pitches, and his slider was particularly effective; generating five whiffs on 11 swings. The issue was once again control, as he walked five hitters and threw just 51 of those 94 pitches for strikes. There’s no denying that Sasaki has the swing-and-miss stuff to be one of the best fantasy starters in baseball, but until he figures out how to locate it, there are going to be more outings like this that frustrate more than satisfy. He’s scheduled to face the Rockies in Colorado next Sunday.

Sasaki didn’t look terrible, though his velocity was down one mph from last week. He threw first-pitch strikes to 16 of 23 batters and wound up with 14 whiffs and five strikeouts. All of the runs came in the third and fourth, with five scoring on homers from Luis García Jr. and James Wood. Two of the three guys he walked on the afternoon came around to score during that stretch. He’ll probably stay in the rotation for now and face the Rangers next weekend. If he’s not better then, it would probably be time to reevaluate his status.

Maybe not quite the best-case scenario but definitely better than most expected. Just 41 percent of Sasaki’s pitches tonight were in the zone, but the Guardians chased after enough of the ones that weren’t to make it a solid showing. He wound up allowing four hits, walking two and striking out four. Sasaki still doesn’t come recommended in fantasy leagues, but this will keep him in the rotation for now. He’ll likely face the Nationals next on Sunday.

Woo adds that the Dodgers haven’t explicitly stated it publicly, but the expectation is that Wrobleski will be ready to pick up the slack, if Sasaki struggles out of the gate in his season debut. The lack of a clear-cut rotation spot limits Wrobleski’s appeal to extremely deep mixed leagues and NL-only formats, but there’s some definite win potential pitching the middle innings with Los Angeles’ loaded lineup providing run support.

Sasaki’s first inning opened with a HBP, a botched grounder and then three straight walks before he was pulled with none out. After returning for the second, he again plunked leadoff man Zach Neto before another walk, a groundout and a double play. The third featured a leadoff walk but then straight outs afterwards, ending Sasaki’s night at 66 pitches. In four starts this spring, he’s posted a 15.58 ERA and a 12/15 K/BB in 8 2/3 innings. His stuff is better than it was last year, and he’s never had this level of control issues before. Most likely, he’ll get that turned around, and while we wouldn’t expect him to emerge as a quality fantasy SP anytime soon, he shouldn’t remain the sort of liability he’s looked like this spring.

Sheehan will follow Opening Day starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto with Tyler Glasnow closing out a three-game season-opening series against Arizona. It’ll be Roki Sasaki followed by Shohei Ohtani early next week to kick off a three-game set against the Guardians at Dodger Stadium. There are some reasons for mild concern with Sheehan fantasy-wise after experiencing some diminished velocity this spring but he’s still going to be a viable mixed-league fantasy contributor. It’ll be Justin Wrobleski operating in a piggyback role, most likely with either Sheehan or Sasaki the first time through the rotation.

Katie Woo of The Athletic reported earlier Sunday that Sheehan might not get a start the first time through, but it’s now confirmed that he will. Justin Wrobleski, who was the alternative to Sheehan, will piggyback off one of the starters. Based on spring performance, Sasaki, who will start the final game of the opening series against the D-backs, would seem to be the most likely choice. Given how much Sasaki struggled in spring, fantasy managers in deeper formats could still roster Wrobleski in case Sasaki’s struggles force him into bulk relief appearances or a starting job. Sheehan and Ohtani will get the Guardians next Monday and Tuesday.

This one is perplexing. Ryan looked outstanding this spring in his return from Tommy John surgery with a microscopic 1.86 ERA and 12/4 K/BB ratio across 9 2/3 innings in Cactus League action. He seemed like a lock to open the year in the big leagues with Blake Snell (shoulder) starting on the injured list. The 27-year-old top pitching prospect will have to wait on the doorstep of the majors for his next opportunity. Los Angeles is going ahead with Roki Sasaki in their season-opening rotation despite his persistent command issues. Ryan’s departure also signals that Justin Wrobleski will function as a swingman or occasional sixth starter for now.

Sasaki’s latest shaky outing Tuesday lowered his spring ERA to 13.50, but the Dodgers aren’t wavering just yet. Sasaki has shown some extra velocity, and he’s managed to strike out 26% of the batters he faced while also unfortunately walking 24%. The control doesn’t figure to remain that bad, but there’s not going to be any reason to trust him in mixed leagues early on.