GOOD NEWS: Highly Desired Japanese Pitcher’s MLB Signing Comes Into Focus as Reds have…
Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred has announced that Roki Sasaki, a highly regarded Japanese pitcher, has joined the 2025 international signing class. The class will begin on January 15th and go through December 15th, giving all MLB teams the opportunity to acquire players. This means Sasaki won’t sign before January 15th. Many organisations have been after the highly sought-after international free agent.
Roki Sasaki, a star Japanese pitcher, has joined an international signing class.
What makes Sasaki stand out
The 23-year-old Chiba Lotte Marines pitcher has received a lot of attention as he prepares to enter the MLB in 2025. The Los Angeles Dodgers have been the most talked-about team in terms of acquiring Sasaki, but numerous other teams are also interested in him. The San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and New York Mets have all expressed an interest in Sasaki. But what’s the big deal about this Japanese youngster? with starters, Sasaki was a force in Japan with the Chiba Lotte Marines this season.
In 111 innings pitched, he had an ERA of 2.35, 129 strikeouts, 32 walks, and 10.5 K/9. The ace’s fastball can consistently reach triple digits. Sasaki hit his fastball at 103 mph in July 2023, while being only 21 years old. He also had 14 strikeouts that game, allowing only one earned run. When it comes to Japanese baseball talent, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) has consistently produced versatile and clutch players. Sasaki joins Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Yu Darvish, and Shota Imanaga among aces who began their careers in the Nippon Professional Baseball League.
Sasaki’s path into baseball has been sincere. When he was only nine years old, disaster hit his homeland. His father, grandparents, and home were destroyed by a tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011. But 12 years after that horrible occurrence, Rosaski made his World Baseball Classic debut for Japan. Sasaki’s unusual fastball and splitter combination is another feature that distinguishes him. While his fastball has been described as excellent, his splitter has also received high accolades.
