Will Another Pitcher Take Paul Skenes' Seat as the 2025 Hobby Darling?
You can thank Paul Skenes for single handily making the pitcher relevant again in the hobby. In the span of just over one year Skenes went from winning the College World Series, to being drafted No. 1 overall, to starting the MLB All-Star Game.
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While that resume is one for the history books, looking to 2025 who could possibly emulate his hobby effect?
The answer is another pitcher in Roki Sasaki. Currently the No. 1 overall prospect Sasaki comes over from Japan with as much fanfare as any international prospect in recent history. He's pitched for the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Nippon Professional Baseball League since 2021 and has an earned run average of 2.10 in 64 games. He also has an astonishing 505 strikeouts during that time.
Also playing a role in thinking Sasaki can generate some Skenes hype is his age. He's only 23 and he has been hitting 100 mph on the radar gun since he was high school aged. It's also an anamoly that a pitcher has come to the United States so early. Players generally wait until after they are 25 when league rules allows them to sign a major league deal. Sasaki was forced to sign a minor league deal with the Dodgers that came with a $6.5 million signing bonus.
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What's intriguing about Sasaki is his velocity and his strikeout to walk rate. While he has an astonishing 505 strikeouts, Sasaki only has 88 walks to his name.
Also helping his case is who he decided to sign with, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Coming off a season that saw them welcome fellow Japanese nationals Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto and winning the 2024 World Series, the Dodgers have exploded internationally and with it comes hobby exposure.
The only question for Sasaki is going to be how his skills will translate to the Major Leagues from the NPB. It's always a question with international free agents, but more so with IFAs who have had incredible success in their hometown leagues.
But the same could have been said for Skenes as it relates to his college experience. Most college baseball players actually cook in the minors for at least a year or two. But some, like Skenes, are special enough to make the quick switch.
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While you can find Sasaki's cards in 2022 Bowman NPB and 2022 Topps Chrome NPB, the only card you can find of his with any kind of MLB or Dodgers imagery is his 2024 Topps Now 'Fireballer Signs With Dodgers.'
It remains to be seen if Skenes' popularity will carry over and continue to push pitchers higher in the hobby. But Roki Sasaki has all the tools and hype to give a good run at it.
After graduating from the University of North Dakota in 2008, Cole worked as an advertising copywriter until shifting to print journalism a few years later. Managing three weekly newspapers in the Dakotas, Cole won numerous awards from the North Dakota Newspaper Association including Best of the Dakotas and, their top award, General Excellence. He returned to collecting in 2021 and has since combined his passion for writing with his love of cards. Cole also writes for the Sports Cards Nonsense newsletter and has made guest appearances on multiple sports card collecting podcasts including Sports Cards Nonsense, and the Eephus Baseball Cards Podcast. IG: coleryan411 X: @colebenz