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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Andrew Joseph

Japan’s Roki Sasaki might be the best pitcher in the world. But when will he arrive in MLB?

If you were to ask the average MLB fan to name the best pitcher in baseball, odds are you’ll hear names like Jacob deGrom, Shohei Ohtani, Sandy Alcantara and Justin Verlander. But the correct answer may very well be a pitcher who doesn’t even play in Major League Baseball.

Japan’s Roki Sasaki is a 21-year-old phenom who plays for the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Nippon Professional Baseball. And on Monday, he will make his first start on U.S. soil — in a soldout loanDepot Park — when he takes on Mexico in the World Baseball Classic semifinal.

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