Roki Sasaki Stats & Scouting Report

Full name Roki Sasaki
Born 11/03/2001 in Rikuzentakata, Japan
Profile Ht.: 6'2" / Wt.: 187 / Bats: R / Throws: R

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

BA Grade/Risk: 75/High.

Track Record: Like most legends, Sasaki’s story begins with tragedy. When he was nine, his father and grandparents were killed by a tsunami caused by the massive Tohoku Earthquake. Sasaki, his mother and two brothers lived in a nursing home before resettling in the small coastal city of Ofunato. Sasaki began playing baseball as an escape and blossomed into the country’s top amateur pitcher. At Ofunato High School, he reached 101 mph to break Shohei Ohtani’s national high school record and earned the nickname “The Monster of the Reiwa Era.” He received further acclaim when he threw a 12-inning complete game with 21 strikeouts on 194 pitches in a regional qualifier for Koshien, Japan’s famed national high school tournament. Chiba Lotte selected Sasaki with the first overall pick in the 2019 Nippon Professional Baseball draft and, cognizant of protecting his arm, sat him during the 2020 season and used him sparingly in 2021. Once Chiba Lotte turned him loose in 2022, Sasaki became an international sensation. At 20 years old, he pitched a perfect game with an NPB-record 19 strikeouts. He threw eight more perfect innings his next start and finished the year with 173 strikeouts, second-most in the Pacific League. He made his U.S. debut at the 2023 World Baseball Classic semifinals against Mexico and averaged 100.5 mph on his fastball, helping lead Japan to the gold medal. Sasaki made only 15 starts in 2023 due to a torn left oblique and 18 starts in 2024 due to shoulder fatigue, but he starred when healthy. He went 10-5, 2.35 with 129 strikeouts and 32 walks in 111 innings for Chiba Lotte in 2024 and was posted after the season.

Scouting Report: Sasaki has a lean, projectable, 6-foot-4, 202-pound frame and an explosive arsenal that rivals any in Major League Baseball. His fastball sits 96-100 mph and touches 102 with remarkably little effort and jumps on hitters with late explosion. His fastball occasionally flattens out and plays below its raw velocity, but it’s still a plus-plus pitch he can blow by hitters with pure power. Sasaki’s primary weapon is a devastating splitter that most observers consider the best in the world. His splitter comes out of the same slot as his fastball at 88-91 mph before diving hard into the ground to draw foolish swings and misses from both lefthanded and righthanded batters. He cuts his splitter in both directions and throws it with so much power and movement that catchers sometimes struggle to handle it. Sasaki mostly uses his fastball to get ahead of hitters and his splitter to finish them, but he began integrating his slider more last season to become a more complete pitcher. His slider sits 83-85 mph with late, vertical snap and projects to be a plus offering as he throws it with more conviction and confidence. He also drops in an occasional 80-81 mph curveball to steal a strike early in counts. Sasaki ties his head-turning arsenal together with plus control and is an elite competitor who goes right after hitters. The only source of concern is his health. Sasaki’s velocity dropped last year as he battled arm soreness and he has never pitched more than.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 60 | Split: 80 | Control: 60.

Top 100 Rankings

Career Transactions

RHP Roki Sasaki roster status changed by Los Angeles Dodgers.
Los Angeles Dodgers invited non-roster RHP Roki Sasaki to spring training.
RHP Roki Sasaki assigned to Oklahoma City Comets.
Los Angeles Dodgers signed free agent RHP Roki Sasaki to a minor league contract.
Japan activated RHP Roki Sasaki.
Japan activated RHP Roki Sasaki.