The Los Angeles Dodgers won the eighth World Series title in franchise history by defeating the New York Yankees in 2024.
After finishing the season with a record of 98-64 and winning the National League West, the Dodgers cruised to the World Series title in five games.
The offseason has seen the Dodgers make multiple moves to further improve their roster, including acquiring starting pitcher Blake Snell, relief pitcher Tanner Scott and starting pitcher Roki Sasaki.
One MLB analyst recently made a bold statement about Sasaki and how he compares to other pitchers to come from Japan.
“In terms of just the raw materials, I do think he has more than maybe any other Japanese pitcher before him,” Dylan Hernandez said, via Foul Territory.
Roki Sasaki has more raw materials than any other Japanese pitcher before him, says @DylanOHernandez. pic.twitter.com/hkFUF6Zxgt
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) February 3, 2025
Hernandez noted the difference between how pitchers are used in Major League Baseball compared to how they are used in Japan.
Japanese pitchers typically pitch once per week while pitchers in MLB pitch every five days or so.
When comparing Sasaki to Japanese pitchers Shohei Ohtani and Yu Darvish, Hernandez said he believes Sasaki could have the best attributes of any of them.
In 2024, the 23-year-old appeared in 18 games and was 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 111.0 innings pitched.
Sasaki hasn’t thrown the number of innings MLB pitchers typically throw, his usage by the Dodgers will be something to watch in 2025, especially early on.
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