Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki continues to face speed bumps in his first MLB season.
The Japanese-born pitcher has been dealing with a shoulder injury that has significantly lowered his fastball velocity. During his Dodgers debut, Sasaki threw multiple pitches exceeding 100 mph. The first four pitches of his MLB career all hit triple digits on the radar gun.
But Sasaki has not thrown for over 100 mph since then, raising concerns about his lingering shoulder issue.
The concerns will only grow louder with the Dodgers’ latest announcement. The team has placed Sasaki on the injured list due to a right shoulder impingement.
The Dodgers recalled RHP J.P. Feyereisen and placed RHP Roki Sasaki on the injured list with right shoulder impingement.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 14, 2025
Sasaki exhibited some trouble with his command in his first seven MLB starts. He gave up nearly as many walks (20) and strikeouts (24), but still maintained a decent 3.86 ERA. The hard-throwing right-hander never allowed more than three earned runs during that early stretch.
However, Sasaki’s run of success ended in his eighth and most recent start against the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 9. The 23-year-old allowed five earned runs on five hits, two walks, and two home runs against the D-Backs. His fastball hovered around 94 mph for most of the contest.
Sasaki sacrificed “at least $200 million” to make the leap to MLB early. He explained that he was willing to do so in pursuit of some ambitious goals in the world’s best league. But it’s clear even an electric prospect like Sasaki still has to go through some growing pains.
