Dodgers Pitching Guru Explains Roki Sasaki's Biggest Change That's Led to Breakout

The 24-year-old is a different pitcher in 2026 than 2025, and can trace his evolution to an underlying 'carrying quality'.

Jun 12, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki (11) delivers a pitch during the first inning aganist the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

When Roki Sasaki returned from the injured list to pitch out of the Los Angeles Dodgers' bullpen last September, he did more than stabilize the team's shaky relief corps.

Sasaki showed the organization that he was willing to adapt to changes to benefit the team.

Rob Hill, the Dodgers' vice president of pitching, believes this benefitted Sasaki beyond the moment.

“Some of that adaptability he began to embrace toward the end of last year has become a part of who he is," Hill told Rob "Pitching Ninja" Friedman. "It’s just something that is more of a carrying quality that he’s been able to enact, than maybe we had really realized.

"It’s been really cool to see the transformation.”

Sasaki, 24, has a 4.76 ERA in 12 starts this season. He's taken his lumps, but also shown flashes of brilliance.

For much of April and the first part of May, he struggled to justify his place in a star-studded starting rotation. On May 16 — only a month ago — Sasaki had a 5.88 ERA and a 6.51 FIP.

Over his next four starts, Sasaki allowed only four earned runs, 13 hits and five walks in 24.1 innings. That run of dominance ended when the White Sox lit him up for seven runs in 4.1 innings June 12 in Chicago.

Sasaki's mechanical adjustments have been well-documented.

It's easy — and not inaccurate — to draw a straight line from his less top-heavy approach to a fastball that consistently reaches 99 mph and above as a starter. In his start against the White Sox, the pitch averaged 98.8 mph — up 4 mph from his final start of 2025.

“It was more about my body’s functionality and overall conditioning,” Sasaki recently said through an interpreter. “I think those adjustments ended up helping.”

Hill's comments suggest a mental adjustment was just as critical to Sasaki's development.

The Dodgers have helped changed his pitch mix in addition to his mechanics. More than his fastball, the increased effectiveness Sasaki saw with his split-fingered fastball and slider were just as important during his torrid four-start stretch.

Being adaptable to changes like these weren't necessarily Sasaki's strong suit coming out of Japan.

More than a year ago, the Dodgers made a concession to him by installing Japanese-style bidets in their renovated clubhouse. Now, Sasaki appears to be making concessions to the Dodgers — to his own benefit.

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