For 27 pitches, fans, players and front office executives gathered behind home plate to catch a glimpse of Roki Sasaki's first live batting practice session at Los Angeles Dodgers spring training.
Sasaki allowed two hits but struck out Eddie Rosario — a veteran in camp on a non-roster invite — with a nasty splitter. It's important to mention Rosario hit a two-run homer the following day in the Cactus League opener against the Chicago Cugs.
After wrapping up his outing, Sasaki went over things with catcher Will Smith and manager Dave Roberts before having similar conversations with Andrew Friedman and pitching coach Mark Prior.
Everyone thought the outing went well, but Roberts wants to tamper expectations on the rookie phenom.
“I think that there’s one thing of being as ready as you can be for his first regular-season outing, versus that’s not the end all be all and kind of appreciate that he’s not a finished product,” Roberts said. “We’re continuing to build him up throughout the season. So a handful of starts before (Opening Day in) Tokyo, and we’ll just see how it goes. But I think with Roki, we’re still learning. We really are. … And I do think we’ve got to give ourselves (and) him (the ability) to read and react a little bit with him.”
The 23-year-old right-hander primarily relied on his fastball and splitter but also worked in a few sliders, a pitch he’s still refining.
As a pitcher who has been the best in Japan, there will be an adjustment period with the Dodgers.
“He’s used to being the best," Roberts said. "And there’s something to being an elite performer, having elite success that translates to wherever you’re at. And you have high expectations for yourself.”
Sasaki viewed Wednesday’s live batting practice as progress compared to the two bullpen sessions he had earlier in camp.
“Just overall, my velocity was better," Sasaki said. "And having hitters in the box, even though I threw a decent amount of balls, I felt that my command was where I was generally aiming for.”
The Dodgers aren't expecting him to be pristine during his first couple of weeks as there is room for growth.
“I’m just trying to guard against [him] trying to be Cy Young on the first day of live batting practice,” Roberts joked, “which no one is expecting.”
