| Roki Sasaki | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Sasaki in March 2025 | |||||||||||||||
| Los Angeles Dodgers – No. 11 | |||||||||||||||
| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (2001-11-03)November 3, 2001 (age 23) Rikuzentakata, Iwate, Japan | |||||||||||||||
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |||||||||||||||
| Professional debut | |||||||||||||||
| NPB: May 16, 2021, for the Chiba Lotte Marines | |||||||||||||||
| MLB: March 19, 2025, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |||||||||||||||
| NPB statistics (through 2024 season) | |||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 29–15 | ||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 2.10 | ||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 505 | ||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics (through March 19, 2025) | |||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 0–0 | ||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 3.00 | ||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Roki Sasaki (Japanese:佐々木 朗希,Hepburn:Sasaki Rōki, born November 3, 2001), nicknamed "the Monster of the Reiwa Era" (令和の怪物,Reiwa no Kaibutsu), is a Japanese professionalbaseballpitcher for theLos Angeles Dodgers ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in theNippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for theChiba Lotte Marines. He made his NPB debut in 2021 for the Marines and signed with the Dodgers in 2025.
Sasaki set a new Japanese high school baseball record with afastball recorded at 101 miles per hour (163 km/h). The Marines chose Sasaki in the first overall selection of the 2019 NPBdraft. Taking care to avoid subjecting their rookie to premature physical stresses, the Marines held back until the 2021 season before allowing him to make his NPB debut. He threw aperfect game on April 10, 2022, in which he tied the NPB record forstrikeouts in one game and set a new record for consecutive strikeouts.
Sasaki is fromRikuzentakata in theIwate Prefecture. Born in 2001, he was named after the villain Rouki fromHyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger, aSuper Sentai show that was aired in the same year.[2][3] He was in thethird grade during the2011 Great East Japan earthquake. The resultingtsunami swept away his house. His father and grandparents died, while Sasaki, his mother, and his two brothers had to live in anursing home during the recovery.[4][5][6] The family moved toŌfunato the next year and Sasaki began to play baseball at his new school. He graduated from Ōfunato High School.[5][7]
Though other high schools recruited Sasaki, he chose to attend Ofunato High School to remain with his teammates.[6] He was nicknamed "the Monster of theReiwa Era" (Reiwa no Kaibutsu令和の怪物) because of his 101 mph (163 km/h)fastball in high school.[8][9] His fastball velocity broke the Japanese high school record set byShohei Ohtani, and Sasaki began to earn comparisons to Ohtani.[6] His nickname is a reference toDaisuke Matsuzaka, who was known as "the Monster of theHeisei Era".[10]
Major League Baseball (MLB) teams hoped that Sasaki would pursue an MLB career, but he opted to remain with his high school team during theJapanese High School Baseball Championship.[11] Sasaki'smanager rested him in the qualifying game where Ofunato was eliminated, drawing criticism.[12] Sasaki announced that he would pitch inNippon Professional Baseball (NPB), declaring for the NPBdraft.[6][13]
After four teams attempted to select Sasaki in the2019 NPB draft, theChiba Lotte Marines of NPB'sPacific League won the lottery for the rights to the first overall selection, and selected Sasaki.[14][15] He received asigning bonus of¥100 million (US$911,161.73).[16] To protect his arm, the Marines did not allow Sasaki to appear in a game during the2020 season.[5] He made his NPB debut on May 16, 2021.[17] For the2021 season, Sasaki had a 3–2win–loss record, a 2.27earned run average (ERA), and 68strikeouts in63+1⁄3innings pitched across 11 appearances.[4][18] Sasaki made his postseason debut for the Marines in the2021 Pacific League Climax Series, striking out 10 batters while allowing onerun in six innings, as Lotte defeated theTohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.[18]
On April 10, 2022, Sasaki pitched aperfect game against theOrix Buffaloes. It was the 16th perfect game in NPB history, the first sinceHiromi Makihara'sperfect game in 1994, and the 94thno-hitter in NPB history, the first since August 15, 2020.[19] Sasaki tied the NPB record set by Koji Noda for total strikeouts in one game, with 19,[20] and set a new NPB record for consecutive strikeouts, having struck out 13 batters in a row.[20] This also became a new world record, beating out the 10 consecutive strikeouts achieved in MLB byCorbin Burnes,Tom Seaver, andAaron Nola.[21]
In his next start, on April 17, Sasaki pitched eight perfect innings against theHokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, before getting taken out from the game before the ninth inning by managerTadahito Iguchi to protect Sasaki's health. He recorded 14 strikeouts on 102 pitches, including striking out the side in the eighth inning with a 101 mph fastball.[22] Sasaki finished the outing having retired 52 consecutive batters, setting an NPB record. The MLB record for retiring consecutive batters is 46 byYusmeiro Petit.[23] Sasaki allowed a hit on the first pitch that he threw in his next game, on April 24.[24] He finished the season 9–4 with a 2.02 ERA and 173 strikeouts in129+1⁄3 innings pitched.[25]
On April 28, 2023, Sasaki threw 4 pitches at a speed of 165 km/h (102.5 mph), which tied the record held byShohei Ohtani for the fastest pitch by a Japanese player in NPB history.[26] In the 2023 season, he was 7–4 with a 1.78 ERA and 135 strikeouts in 91 innings[27] and he followed that up with a 10–5 record, 2.35 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 111 innings in 2024.[27] On November 8, 2024, the Marinesposted Sasaki to allow him to pursue an opportunity withMajor League Baseball.[28]
On January 22, 2025, Sasaki signed a contract with theLos Angeles Dodgers, which featured a $6.5 million signing bonus. Because he was under the age of 25 at the time, regulations required that he had to sign a minor league deal.[29][30] Shortly after his signing,Baseball America andMLB.com both named him the No. 1 prospect in MLB entering the 2025 season.[31][32]
Sasaki made the Dodgers'opening day roster and was announced as the starter for the second game of the season in theMLB Tokyo Series 2025 against theChicago Cubs on March 19, 2025.[33] In his debut, he allowed one run on one hit and five walks while striking out three. His first MLB strikeout was ofSeiya Suzuki.[34]
Sasaki pitched for theJapanese national baseball team in the2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC).[35] He made his first start of the competition on March 11 against theCzech Republic, pitching3+2⁄3 innings while giving up two hits, an unearned run, two walks, and recording eight strikeouts.[36] On March 20, he started in Japan's WBC semifinal game againstMexico, pitching for four innings while giving up five hits, three runs, and recording three strikeouts.[37] He finished the tournament at 1–0 with a 3.52 ERA and 11 strikeouts across7+2⁄3 innings, receiving agold medal in Japan's championship victory over theUnited States.[38]
Sasaki's performance in the 2023 WBC received international media attention. In his start against Mexico, his averagefour-seam fastball velocity was 100.5 mph (161.7 km/h) and topped out at 101.9 mph (164.0 km/h). Hissplit-finger fastball averaged 91.2 mph (146.8 km/h) and generated 31.4 inches (800 mm) of vertical break.[39] ThreeMajor League Baseball executives compared Sasaki's abilities at age 21 to those ofStephen Strasburg, who was selected first overall in the2009 Major League Baseball draft and was considered one of the most anticipated prospects in the league's history.[40][41]
Sasaki is listed as 6-foot-2-inch (1.88 m) and 187-pound (85 kg).[42] A right-handed pitcher with a three-quarters delivery,[43] he throws a fastball topping out at 102.5 mph (165 km/h).[44] In the 2022 season, his fastball averaged 98.4 mph (158.3 km/h) as a starter.[45] He also throws aforkball, acurveball, and aslider.[46][47] The forkball is the bestoff-speed pitch in his arsenal.[48][49]
Sasaki, a right-hander for the Chiba Lotte Marines, tied an NPB record with his 19 strikeouts against the Orix Buffaloes. According to Kyodo News, he also struck out 13 consecutive batters at one point, a record in Japanese pro baseball.
