Could the Dodgers Send Roki Sasaki to Minor Leagues?

The Los Angeles Dodgers are hopeful that the early struggles of 23-year-old phenom Roki Sasaki are just temporary.

The first two starts of his MLB career have been abysmal, but the future is still bright for the highly-anticipated rookie season of the young right-hander.

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Sasaki had a productive showing this past spring, securing seven strikeouts in seven innings over two games. He only allowed three hits and three walks in that span.

His MLB debut in his home country of Japan was the second game of the Tokyo Series to open up the 2025 regular season. In three innings, he threw as many strikeouts and allowed a hit and earned run each. However, an obvious command issue ended with him throwing five walks and staying in the dugout when the fourth inning began.

Saturday's game, his first in North America, was met by 51,000 anxious Dodgers fans wanting to see if this rookie was worth the offseason hype.

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After just 1.2 innings, Sasaki was pulled. He allowed three hits, two earned runs, and allowed four walks.

With such a talented roster, and MLB-caliber starting pitchers waiting in the wings of the injured list and in Triple-A, the pressure is being placed on the 23-year-old from the baseball public. A brief stint in the minor leagues is a possibility, but manager Dave Roberts is trying to take his career one start at a time.

“Make that start on Saturday and see where we go from there,” Roberts said. “That’s kind of my focus, all of our focus right now.”

That next start on Saturday will be against a formidable Philadelphia Phillies team filled with All-Stars, Silver Sluggers, and MVPs. Sasaki will once again be tested as it will also be his first road game on the mound in North America.

Sasaki's professional career in Nippon Professional Baseball featured a lot of success across four seasons. A career 29-15 record was accompanied by a 2.10 ERA, throwing 505 strikeouts to just 88 walks before transitioning to MLB play.

Now, he'll be tasked with growing quickly at the MLB level. If not, the Dodgers could elect to allow him time to work through his struggles in Triple-A. But that decision won't be made until the Dodgers see at least one more start from the young phenom.

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