Roki Sasaki: Stats, pitcher profile, potential teams

Roki Sasaki could be the next pitching sensation to transition from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league to the MLB.

The 23-year-old is expected to travel across the Pacific Ocean to join a MLB team some time in the coming years, and potentially as soon as this winter.

It is unclear whether Sasaki’s current team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, will “post” him, thus allowing him to negotiate with MLB teams, or retain him for the 2025 season.

With World Series winners like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto and star pitchers Yu Darvish and Shota Imanaga coming over from Japan over the last decade, MLB teams recognize the immense value in luring players over from the NPB. 

Who is Roki Sasaki?

Born on November 3, 2001, Sasaki is currently 23 years old and has already made a name for himself as a historically great pitcher in Japan.

He made his debut for the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2021 and has gone on to throw a no-hitter, perfect game, set the single-game strikeout record (19) and most consecutive strikeout record (13) in just four seasons.

Sasaki also featured in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, in which Japan defeated the United States in the final, starting on the mound in the semifinal win over Mexico.

This, of course, has caught the attention of MLB teams, who are constantly seeking out international talent to bolster their rosters for cheap.

Sasaki isn’t guaranteed to come over the United States in 2024, or even 2025, but when he eventually does, it will make waves across the league due to his massive potential as a starting pitcher.

Roki Sasaki NPB stats

Year	Games	W-L record	Innings pitched	ERA	Strikeouts	Walks
2021	16	4-2	83.1	1.84	87	19
2022	20	9-4	129.1	2.02	173	23
2023	15	7-4	91.0	1.78	135	17
2024	18	10-5	111.0	2.35	129	32

Roki Sasaki pitcher profile

Sasaki is known as a flamethrower with a fastball that regularly exceeds 100 MPH.

In the 2023 World Baseball Classic semifinal vs. Mexico, he threw 29 fastballs, 26 of which were 100+ MPH, and topping at 101.8.

Sasaki primarily pairs his devastating fastball with a splitter, and has recently added a slider to his repertoire, too.

Expect Sasaki to continue perfecting his main pitches while adding more variety to his arsenal in the coming years.

Roki Sasaki contract & potential team

Should Sasaki come over to the MLB in 2024, the team that signs him will be getting an incredible bargain.

This is due to the MLB’s international free agent rules, which force teams to use money out of their international free agent pools, which top out at $7 million, for any player younger than 25.

Once a player turns 25, teams can offer them as large a contract as they want, as we saw with 25-year-old Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s 12-year, $325 million deal this time last year.

Sasaki can also remain in Japan until he turns 25 and earn a nine-figure contract as his first in the MLB.

So, with all that being said, which teams have a realistic shot at Sasaki when he does come over?

The obvious answer is the Los Angeles Dodgers, who just won the 2024 World Series and have two of Sasaki’s fellow countrymen in Ohtani and Yamamoto. It’s fair to say the Dodgers have it figured out when it comes to pitching superstar international prospects from Japan.

The Chicago Cubs aren’t quite the Dodgers, but they have proven to be an ambitious franchise and currently roster Japan internationals Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki, both of whom signed with the Cubs directly from the NPB.

2024 World Series runners-up the New York Yankees and their crosstown rival New York Mets are two of the richest clubs in the game and will almost certainly inquire about Sasaki as well. Out west, the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants have also been mentioned as potential suitors.

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