Roki Sasaki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, or Kodai Senga? Ex-MLB, NPB slugger names toughest pitcher to face

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been quite busy adding to their roster during the off-season, with Roki Sasaki arguably being their most intriguing acquisition of this winter. The 23-year-old joined Kodai Senga and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the train of top Japanese right-handed starting pitchers that have crossed over from the NPB to the MLB over the past few years.

Former San Diego Padres outfielder Brian O'Grady shared his experience of facing Roki Sasaki, Kodai Senga and Yoshinobu Yamamoto from his days in the NPB. O'Grady rated the new Los Angeles Dodgers acquisition as the toughest pitcher to face between the trio, based on his on-field encounters with them.

Brian O'Grady made his MLB debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 2019 and played bit-part roles for the Tampa Bay Rays and the San Diego Padres over the next two years. He later joined the Saitama Seibu Lions in the NPB for the 2022 season. He described his experience of facing Roki Sasaki, Kodai Senga and Yoshinobu Yamamoto during the Justin Ayers Baseball podcast on Sunday [0 - 8:19].

"I faced Yamamoto over there, and Senga. They were all in my division, as was Sasaki," O'Grady said. "They were all really good, obviously. We see what Yamamoto and Senga have done in the MLB. For me, personally, Roki was the toughest at the time.

"One guy on Twitter tweeted back at me after I tweeted out," O'Grady continued. O'Grady was 0-6 against Sasaki with five strikeouts. I'm like, 'Thanks, man.' I said that the sixth one was a hard line out to the warning track in left field, which it was, which was just funny. So, he definitely got the better of me over there."

Roki Sasaki, a two-time All-Star in the NPB, grabbed international attention after pitching a perfect game for the Chiba Lotte Marines on April 10, 2022.

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"Felt like Roki Sasaki did everything he wanted to over there in Japan": Brian O'Grady

Sasaki played four seasons for the Chiba Lotte marines in the NPB (Image Source: Imagn)

Due to his age, Roki Sasaki was only eligible for the amateur international free agent market. Therefore, the Los Angeles Dodgers secured his services for the value of a minor league contract, while he will remain under club control for the next six years.

Brian O'Grady discussed the possible reasons why the pitcher made an early transition to the MLB, when he would have earned a larger sum of money had he joined after a few more years in the NPB.

"I know Sasaki was a big-time high school prospect over there," O'Grady said. "He may have had something in his contract about them letting him pursue MLB after however many years. My guess is that his ultimate goal was to play in the MLB. He probably felt like he did everything he wanted to over there in Japan. They hadn't won, but he threw a perfect game; he got like 52 straight batters out, or something ridiculous like that, at one point.

"So, maybe he just thought it was time," O'Grady added. "$6 million is still $6 million. It's not as much as he'd have gotten if he was just a regular free agent. He'll have an opportunity to make more through that bonus system they have now for Rookie of the Year, all that kind of stuff. Anybody with that kind of talent, at the end of the day, wants to come to what's considered the best league in the world and see what they can do over here."

Roki Sasaki will reportedly receive a $6 million signing bonus from the Dodgers.