Roki Sasaki made a notable Cactus League debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers, striking out five batters in three scoreless innings against the Cincinnati Reds. Showcasing a strong fastball that reached 99 mph, Sasaki confirmed his potential as a top prospect from Japan. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expressed his excitement about Sasaki's performance, highlighting his improved velocity. In addition to his on-field contributions, Sasaki has also engaged in charitable efforts, donating 10 million yen to support relief for a forest fire affecting his hometown in Japan.
This is the best we've seen him and you would expect that given he's now really in compete mode. The adrenaline is real. We haven't seen 99 (mph) all spring, so we saw 99 and certainly a lot of swing and miss.
As part of his recruitment during the offseason, Sasaki asked all the teams he met with to give a presentation as to why his velocity was down in 2024 and what their plan was to ensure it never happened again.
Sasaki averaged 98.3 mph on his fastball throughout his start against the Reds. It was an improvement on the 96.8 mph he averaged in 2024, and much closer to the 98.8 mph he averaged in 2023.
Sasaki has donated 10 million yen (roughly $66,000) and 500 sets of bedding to help with relief efforts for the forest fire that has displaced more than 4,000 people.
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