Japanese Pitching Sensation Roki Sasaki Seen Wearing Padres Gear
The San Diego Padres could use an elite pitcher in their rotation. If this picture below means anything, they could be on their way to getting one.
A recent photo of Japanese pitching sensation Roki Sasaki rocking Padres gear has surfaced, and it's got Padre fans in a bundle.
Is this picture something, nothing, or everything?
Based on the caption of the photo, Padres ace Yu Darvish gifted it to the 22-year-old phenom. Already a star in Japan, Sasaki turned heads in the United States with his performance in Japan's run to the World Baseball Classic championship last year.
Sasaki is one of the shining prospects who could be an MLB free agent as early as next winter. Currently, he is under contract to the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's Pacific League.
Sasaki has reportedly asked to be posted, which would allow him to become a free agent under the terms of the posting agreement between Major League Baseball and NPB. The Marines are under no obligation to post Sasaki, however. If he is posted, Sasaki will be the prized gem of the offseason.
The Padres — like every team — could use a pitcher like Sasaki. His average fastball velocity in the WBC semifinals was 100.5 mph. The splitter, his best pitch, has few major league comps.
Sasaki's splitter checks in at 91.2 mph with 2.30 inches of induced vertical break and 7.80 inches of horizontal break. That velocity would rank as the second fastest, trailing only Hirokazu Sawamura of the Boston Red Sox. Sasaki's break numbers, meanwhile, compare most favorably to those of Blake Parker (2.9, 7.40). Parker's splitter last season generated a 36 percent whiff rate and a .232 average against.
If this picture tells us anything, it's that Sasaki has played paddleball, and he looks good in the San Diego Padres' colors. Perhaps that bodes well for the Padres down the road.
