Roki Sasaki gets unrelenting praise from 2x All-Star after Dodgers Spring Training heroics

Roki Sasaki hasn't even gotten into an MLB regular season game yet, and he's already being given high praise. He features a splitter as his signature pitch, and former two-time MLB All-Star Harold Reynolds said it's as good as anyone's.

Japanese pitchers commonly incorporate splitters into their repertoire, and Sasaki may have perfected it on his path to the MLB. Hitters may have to pay the price for that in Reynolds' estimation.

The MLB analyst said of the young Los Angeles Dodgers star:

"It's right up there. I've not seen since [Hideo] Nomo came here... This thing, that pitch right there, forget it. The combination of that fastball, because he throws at such a high velocity, but you could throw 85 and say here's my split, it doesn't matter. This thing is dropping a foot! You're not catching that... It's almost like Dave Stewart's [forkball]."

This is perhaps the inverse of how his Japanese teammate arrived. Last year, Yoshinobu Yamamoto arrived and had a tumultuous spring, leading to concerns. He also had a rough first outing, but he eventually turned it around.

Sasaki, in Reynolds' eyes, is seemingly skipping the adjustment period and is already at the level he needs to be to dominate thanks to his excellent splitter. Sasaki is coming off a four-inning, two-strikeout performance with 23 of 41 pitches going for strikes.

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Roki Sasaki wants more after strong start

Roki Sasaki had a good outing in Spring Training, but the Dodgers star wants more. He isn't satisfied with an admittedly strong stat line and believes there's room to grow.

Roki Sasaki is ready to take the next step (Imagn)

He said via MLB:

"There are a few more things that didn’t go sort of the way I wanted today. I reverted to some bad habits that I developed. To have those come out in a game before Opening Day, so that I can address them in time, is a good thing."

He continued:

“I think there were just a few things with the way I’m using my lower half, just some inconsistency between the things that I’m trying to do and what was actually happening.”

Sasaki is in line to start one of the two Tokyo Series games on March 18-19 when the Dodgers take on the Chicago Cubs.