Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Roki Sasaki's spring debut was everything Dodgers hoped

By Kevin Henry | Last updated Mar 5, 2025 1:17 AM ET

The long-awaited spring debut for Roki Sasaki in a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform proved that the 23-year-old Japanese phenom could impress and perform against Major League Baseball hitters.

Sasaki, signed by the Dodgers this offseason as one of the most coveted pitchers on the open market, came in out of the bullpen on Tuesday night at Camelback Ranch against the Cincinnati Reds. Entering the game in the fifth in relief of starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Sasaki flashed a fastball that reached as high as 99.3 mph as well as a splitter and slider in the mid-80s (per Baseball Savant).

In all, Sasaki threw 46 pitches in his three innings of work, with 26 landing for strikes. He allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out five and hitting one batter. His eight swings and misses were the most of any pitcher in the game, which Los Angeles won 4-2.

Sasaki started somewhat slowly, allowing a one-out single to Austin Wynns and then hitting Stuart Fairchild. However, Sasaki struck out the next two batters looking to end the frame.

Roki Sasaki strikes out his first batter of #SpringTraining! pic.twitter.com/q3NK4KFrZv
— MLB (@MLB) March 5, 2025

The right-hander showed his ability to escape trouble in the next inning as well, allowing a leadoff double to Elly De La Cruz before retiring the next two batters. After a walk and a wild pitch that moved the two Cincinnati runners into scoring position, Sasaki got Noelvi Marte to pop out to first to keep the Reds off the scoreboard.

Sasaki's final inning was his best of the night, needing just 11 pitches to record all three outs, including a pair of strikeouts.

You can see all five of Sasaki's strikeouts against Cincinnati below. Four of them came via a breaking ball, while three strikeouts came with the batter looking, showing just how much movement Sasaki was getting on his pitches.

Roki Sasaki strikes out 5 in his #SpringTraining debut. pic.twitter.com/RWUPHApuFS
— MLB (@MLB) March 5, 2025

Per Baseball Savant, of the 18 splitters that Sasaki threw, there were eight swings on those pitches. Seven of those swings missed, with the vast majority of those splitters (and the rest that Sasaki unleashed) ending up outside the strike zone and fooling hitters.

Sasaki passed his first spring training test with flying colors, showing a variety of pitches against Cincinnati hitters who will be in the Reds' Opening Day lineup. Sasaki is expected to make his regular-season debut on March 19 in Tokyo against the Chicago Cubs.

Kevin Henry

A member of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), Kevin Henry has been covering MLB and MiLB for nearly two decades. Those assignments have included All-Star Games and the MLB postseason, including the World Series. Based in the Denver area, Kevin calls Coors Field his home base, but travels throughout North America during the season to discover the best stories possible

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