Roki Sasaki's spring training performance labeled 'disaster' for Dodgers

Roki Sasaki's spring training performance labeled 'disaster' for Dodgers originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . Spring training was a mess for Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki.

His command was off, leading to a surplus of runners on base. Sasaki finished last season in the Dodgers' bullpen, but manager Dave Roberts placed him back in the rotation to begin the 2026 season. "Roki Sasaki was a disaster in spring training, allowing 26 of the 52 batters he faced to reach base, 15 of which did so via walk," ESPN's Alden Gonzalez wrote Thursday.

"When he took the mound for his regular-season debut Monday, many expected the worst. " Instead, the 24-year-old from Japan was solid, allowing one earned run on four hits with four strikeouts in four innings against the Cleveland Guardians . MORE: Terrance Gore's son honors dad with perfect first pitch "The Dodgers have made it clear that they're going to give Sasaki every opportunity to start for them, but he needs to continue to make progress," Gonzalez added.

In Japan, with Nippon Professional Baseball's Chiba Lotte Marines, Sasaki set the record for consecutive strikeouts in a game with 13. That is the current world record, and Roberts and the Dodgers would love to see him start racking up the punchouts instead of walks . Performances like the ones he had with the Marines are what made him one of the more hyped prospects to come out of Japan in Major League history.