The Roki Sasaki era of Los Angeles Dodgers baseball is about to begin.
When the 23-year-old chose the Los Angeles over the San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays, the Dodgers were elated. What the right-hander brings in his arsenal could make him one of Major League Baseball’s best pitchers.
During his four seasons with Japan’s Chiba Lotte Marines, Roki Sasaki compiled a 2.10 ERA and 0.89 WHIP, racking up 505 strikeouts while issuing just 88 walks across 394.2 innings. In April 2022, he delivered a historic two-game stretch, throwing a perfect game that included an NPB-record 13 consecutive strikeouts, then following it up with eight more perfect innings in his next start.