Dodgers Prioritizing Long-Term Growth With Roki Sasaki

“I 100 percent appreciate and get that right now, fans don’t care at all about three years from now or five years from now,” Friedman said. “But when we get there, they definitely will. So it’s incumbent upon us to do everything we can to maximize the now, while also doing everything we can to put ourselves in the best position in the future, as well.”

May 11, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki (11) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Has Sasaki Shown Promise Through His First Two Seasons?

While most of Sasaki’s outings result in a middle-inning collapse, the first two innings of all of his outings have gone rather smoothly. He has allowed just two runs through the first two innings across his seven starts, none of which have come in the first.

The damage tends to come later for Sasaki, who has just three pitches in his arsenal: a fastball, forkball and newly developed slider. With such a limited pitch selection, batters during the second or third time through the lineup are more privy to what they may see from the young right-hander, and capitalize on any mistake they see during their at-bat.

Sasaki’s one-to-two inning dominance explains his success as a reliever during the 2025 postseason, when he became a fan favorite and a trusted arm out of the Dodgers’ bullpen. He made nine appearances in the postseason for the Dodgers, allowing a single run through 10.2 innings and converting all three of his save opportunities.

If Sasaki can find a way to translate his success in relief to his starting role—and perhaps expand his arsenal while he’s at it—he has the stuff to pitch with the best in MLB.

Do you think Roki Sasaki can still develop to become elite? How should he go about doing that?