"It is, but I think that Roki has still - there's a lot of growth potential with Roki as a young player, and so it's important because we're expecting him to be good, he's expecting to be good and to continue to get better. But, yeah, I mean, it's a big one. But they should all be big in a certain way. Roki is still developing, and like I said, he's not going to be fully developed by the season's start, and that's to be expected."
"Honestly, today was the first day I thought he came out of his mechanics. I just thought he was overthrowing. The main thing is he's got to pitch off of his split. He can strike it, shorten it. Then mix in the fastball, commanded. And then work on that third pitch we're talking about. But today I think he got into some bad counts. He just didn't have feel or command of that fastball."
Roki Sasaki returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation after a successful rookie bullpen season. In his 2026 Cactus League debut against Arizona, Sasaki was pulled after one out in the second inning following a rough performance. He allowed three hits, two walks, and five of nine batters reached base safely. Only 17 of his 36 pitches were strikes. Manager Dave Roberts noted Sasaki appeared to come out of his mechanics and was overthrowing, which hadn't been evident in previous spring training sessions. Roberts emphasized Sasaki's continued development and the importance of improving command of his split-finger pitch and fastball.
Read at Dodger Blue
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