Tom Verducci’s Breakdown of the Week: Roki Sasaki Finally Had His Breakout Start

The Dodgers youngster had his first scoreless start of the season against the Yankees on Friday, and the evident changes could be here to stay.

Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki allowed zero earned runs in 5 2/3 innings against the Yankees on Friday to lower his ERA to 4.98. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This article is part of Verducci’s View, a new weekly baseball newsletter from Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci. Every Monday, Tom empties out his notebook over email and covers MLB’s hottest topics, provides in-depth analysis through both text and video breakdowns, looks forward to what’s worth watching during the week and more. If you want to be featured in his new mailbag, please email newsletters@si.com with any questions about MLB or his decades in the sport.

Maybe it was the eight days of rest. Maybe it was the stage of pitching at Yankee Stadium. Maybe it was not tipping his pitches. (The Dodgers have tried to get him to come set with his hands close to his body rather than extended away, but he says he is not comfortable from that position. The tipping pops up from time to time in the heat of competition.)

Or maybe, as Roki Sasaki explained his breakout start Friday, it was the result of using his lower half better.

Sasaki entered his start with a firm fastball (97.6 mph average) but with low spin and mediocre induced vertical break (16 inches) that make it very hittable. Batters were hitting .314 against it with a .606 slug, the worst off any four-seamer except the one of Dodgers teammate Emmet Sheehan. Sasaki’s fastball was the seventh worst pitch in MLB as ranked by run value.

And then suddenly Sasaki fired his heater with two to three more ticks on it. After hitting 100 mph 31 times in his first 33 career games, Sasaki hit triple digits 21 times Friday. Only Jacob Misiorowski threw more pitches 100 mph in a game this year.

The Yankees did go 3-for-10 against Sasaki’s fastball. But he did command it well and it complemented his wicked splitter well enough to cover 17 outs in only the second start of his career without allowing an earned run.

The All-Star break gave Sasaki time for a reset, both mentally and mechanically, and he used the time well. As you can see above, Sasaki did not undergo a massive overhaul of his delivery. He gained more power by sinking into his legs more and staying over the rubber a fraction longer, delivering the baseball later and hotter.

TV on TV This Week

Saturday, July 25: Padres at Marlins, 4 p.m. ET (FS1)

Liam Hicks has an .817 OPS in 89 games for the Marlins this year. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Marlins are one of the most fun watches in MLB. They run the bases aggressively and string together hits—something that often escapes the .226-hitting Padres, the worst hitting team in MLB.

Impressively, the Marlins have put together a dynamic offense filled mostly with young players acquired from other clubs. Here is how the usual starting lineup for Miami was acquired:

Position/Player/Age	How Acquired
C: Joe Mack, 23	2021 first-round draft pick
1B: Kyle Stowers, 28	2024 trade from Orioles
2B: Xavier Edwards, 26	2022 trade from Rays
SS: Otto Lopez, 27	2024 waiver claim from Giants
3B: Javier Sanoja, 23	2019 international free agent
LF: Heriberto Hernandez, 26	2024 minor-league free agent
CF: Jakob Marsee, 25	2024 trade from Padres
RF: Griffin Conine, 29	2020 trade from Blue Jays
DH: Liam Hicks	2024 Rule 5 pick from Tigers

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