Roki

Sasaki

Sasaki pitched scoreless first and second innings before walking three in a row with one out in the third. He was pulled at that point, and Nick Robertson went on to strand the bases loaded. Sasaki came back out in the fourth and gave up a two-run homer to Luca Tresh before finishing the inning. He again returned in the fifth, but he was pulled after Starling Marte’s leadoff double. In all, Sasaki struck out five and walked four. His fastball averaged 97.9 mph and topped out at 99.5. The improvement in his stuff from last year provides hope that he’ll be of use in mixed leagues eventually. We wouldn’t want to count on him initially, though.

Sasaki continued building up his pitch count and stamina out of the Cactus League spotlight after some mixed results in a handful of early-spring outings. The 24-year-old’s velocity has been there but his fastball command remains elusive. With both Blake Snell and Gavin Stone (shoulder) opening the season on the injured list, the Dodgers are probably going to need Sasaki in their early-season pitching mix even if starting the year at Triple-A might benefit his long-term development. It certainly feels like both Sasaki and dynamic pitching prospect River Ryan, who has looked phenomenal this spring, are going to make Los Angeles’ season-opening roster.

Sasaki endured a nightmare opening frame, failing to record an out while allowing the first five batters to reach — including a grand slam to Kyle Manzardo. He managed to settle down afterwards, retiring six consecutive batters over his final two innings of work. The 24-year-old sat in the upper-90s with his four-seam fastball but struggled to consistently locate it, which in turn diminished the effectiveness of his signature splitter. The command concerns aren’t theoretical anymore — they’re the flashing yellow light on the dashboard as the regular season approaches. From a fantasy perspective, that kind of volatility is hard to ignore. And yet, there’s been no signal from the Dodgers that a reset at Triple-A is on the table, which creates the familiar tension between talent and trust — the organization betting on upside while fantasy managers debate how much turbulence they’re willing to absorb.

Sasaki got off to a rocky start, allowing four of the first five batters he faced to reach base safely, which led to three runs crossing the plate. He threw just 17 of 36 pitches for strikes. The positive here is that he averaged an impressive 96.8 mph, topping out at 98.6 mph, on his four-seam fastball and recorded three strikeouts. He also showed off his new cutter and sinker. Sasaki’s key to sustained success will be fastball command and whether he can generate whiffs consistently on his signature splitter. He’s tentatively penciled into the Dodgers’ season-opening rotation but fantasy managers should take a wait-and-see approach before anticipating a breakthrough campaign.

That’s good news for Emmet Sheehan and Roki Sasaki, who would seem to be in the lead for the two spots behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow in the Dodgers rotation. The club also has Ben Casparius, Justin Wrobleski and Landon Knack as alternatives, as well as rehabbing righties River Ryan and Gavin Stone.

Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said during an interview with MLB Network shortly afterwards that Roki Sasaki will return to the rotation mix once spring training rolls around after an impressive closer cameo during the postseason. Roberts hinted the Dodgers will get “creative” early in the season with their pitching staff — code for something that looks and behaves like a six-man rotation without actually calling it one — as they look to preserve Ohtani, Yamamoto, Snell and Glasnow for the long haul. Nearly every contender has adopted some version of this strategy by now, and it’s the logical path for Los Angeles. We expect Emmet Sheehan to grab a spot with Sasaki also factoring into the mix during the early portion of the year.

Horton enters as the heavy favorite after emerging as one of baseball’s most dominant pitchers in the second half, posting a dazzling 1.03 ERA across 61 1/3 innings over 12 starts. Baldwin would be a worthy choice in most years after cementing himself as Atlanta’s catcher of both the present and future during an impressive full-season debut, slugging 19 homers across 124 games. Durbin’s inclusion comes as a mild surprise over unheralded Nationals outfielder Daylen Lile, who posted an .845 OPS with 35 extra-base hits over 91 contests. Nationals center fielder Dylan Crews and Dodgers starer-turned-postseason closer Roki Sasaki entered the year as preseason favorites, but both missed most of the campaign due to injury. The winner will be announced on Monday, November 10.

Sasaki gave up a single to William Contreras before getting a line-out to right, a fielder’s choice to second base on a grounder, and a routine flyout to right to end the game and put the Dodgers in the World Series. The 23-year-old should be the stopper for Los Angeles in the Fall Classic as well, be it against Toronto or Seattle beginning next Friday.

Sasaki got the call from Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to protect a two-run lead in the top of the ninth inning after high-leverage arms Blake Treinen and Alex Vesia pitched earlier in the contest. The 23-year-old rookie’s velocity appeared to be back to its usual levels as he was sitting in the upper 90’s with his fastball and needed just 13 pitches to slam the door. He got Andrew Vaughn to ground out and Sal Frelick to pop up before striking out Caleb Durbin to end it. It was a much-needed rebound effort for Sasaki on the heels of a rocky performance his last time out earlier in the series.

Sasaki dealt with some diminished velocity during Monday’s series-opening win in Milwaukee, which was ultimately finished off by veteran Blake Treinen, who was summoned to record the final out of the ninth inning of a one-run ballgame. All eyes will be on the 23-year-old phenom’s velocity when he gets back in a high-leverage spot for Los Angeles. He was an unexpected revelation for the Dodgers in his first couple playoff outings prior to Monday’s unexpected speed bump. It’ll likely be Treinen or lefty Alex Vesia handling a potential save situation in Game 2.