"Halfway across the world, Roki Sasaki had a secret admirer. In 2021, his first season in Nippon Professional Baseball, the Chiba Lotte Marines' teenaged phenom regularly blew triple-digit fastballs by hitters and complemented them with a split-fingered fastball that behaved like a high-velocity knuckleball. Once a week, new videos of Sasaki's latest start would find their way onto social media, and when they did, Rob Hill would consume them with equal parts appreciation and awe."
"Over the previous four months, Sasaki's ballyhooed rookie season with the Dodgers had devolved into a disaster. He struggled through eight starts, hit the injured list with a right shoulder impingement May 13, started throwing again two weeks later and was shut down once more June 16. He returned to the mound for Oklahoma City two months after that with a fastball sitting at just 93 mph in Triple-A."
Roki Sasaki emerged as a teenage pitching phenom in Japan with triple-digit fastballs and a split-fingered pitch that moved like a knuckleball. Dodgers director of pitching Rob Hill followed Sasaki's starts closely and mentally cataloged pitchers' mechanics. After arriving with high expectations, Sasaki's rookie season with the Dodgers deteriorated over four months due to poor starts and a right shoulder impingement that sent him to the injured list. He resumed throwing, was shut down again, and returned to Triple-A with a fastball reduced to about 93 mph. Dodgers executives and coaches worked to earn his trust and promised tools and support.
Read at ESPN.com
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