Roki Sasaki Has Big Problem to Fix if he Wants to Remain a Dodgers Starter

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki is set to pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday, giving him another chance to prove he belongs in the starting rotation.

Thus far in 2026, he’s struggled, putting up a 6.35 ERA and a record of 1-2, leading him to be labeled the team’s biggest disappointment thus far this year, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

So can he salvage his starting job and avoid a return to the bullpen? It might largely depend on improving in one key area.

What’s holding Roki Sasaki back from being a strong starting pitcher?

Dodgers Nation’s Doug McKain thinks it’s Sasaki’s fastball that’s costing him on the mound, and that’s a problem considering it’s his most-thrown pitch.

While he’s throwing it with speed — Baseball Savant puts his average fastball velocity of 97.1 mph in the top 12% of pitchers — he can’t always control where it goes.

That’s led to some truly disastrous statistical results.

His pitching run value is -10, worse than 98% of pitchers, while his fastball run value is -8, worse than 97% of pitchers.

His expected ERA is 6.05, in the bottom 11%, and his expected batting average of .275 is in the bottom 18%.

The result is that Sasaki’s fastball “has been absolutely tattooed this year” by opposing hitters, McKain said.

How does Roki Sasaki fix what’s going wrong?

Fortunately for Sasaki, he’s still very young at 24 years old, and he has time to right the ship.

And if he can control where that fastball goes, it could make all the difference.

“I think he’s fastball command away from being a really good big league starter… his fastball looks nothing like it did in the show than what it did when he was in the NPB,” McKain said.

If he can get a handle on that fastball, which he throws 41.5% of the time, that’s a large chunk of pitches that hitters will struggle against.

If and when he starts returning the form he showed in Nippon Professional Baseball, the Dodgers will be much more comfortable with him as a starting pitcher.

If he can’t fix things soon enough, though, he could find himself crowded out of the starting rotation, especially with Blake Snell nearing his return to the Dodgers roster.

Do you think Roki Sasaki has what it takes to be a starting pitcher?