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.
While this will be his first appearance in a big-league stadium, it almost definitely won’t be his last. His arrival to Major League Baseball is inevitable, but the wait may be longer than most big-league fans and teams would prefer.
Who is Roki Sasaki?
Sasaki is a star pitcher in the NPB and one of the brightest prospects in the game.
Last year, he garnered global attention when he threw the first NPB perfect game since 1994 — a 19-strikeout effort against the Orix Buffaloes — and threw an additional eight perfect innings in the next start. He was pulled after eight innings having thrown 102 pitches.
But you don’t have to be an MLB scout to see that his stuff is incredible.
Last week: Rōki Sasaki throws a perfect game with 19Ks in a 1-0 victory for the Chiba Lotte Marines in 🇯🇵
Today: Sasaki throws another 8 perfect innings with 14Ks before being taken out on 102 pitches at 0-0.
He has 17 consecutive PERFECT innings… 🔥pic.twitter.com/l1sOEDBi6U
— Baseball Brit (@BaseballBrit) April 17, 2022
His fastball tops out at 103 mph, and he already boasts a devastating splitter.
Last season with the Marines, Sasaki — 20 years old at the time — struck out 173 batters in 129.1 innings, allowing just 23 walks and posting a 2.02 ERA in the second-best league in the world.
How has he looked in the WBC?
While Monday’s game against Mexico will be Sasaki’s first start against an MLB-quality roster, he was dominant in his previous appearance against the Czech Republic.
Sasaki struck out eight in 3.2 innings, and you could see that the Czech lineup was simply overmatched against a pitcher of Sasaki’s caliber.
Here's a supercut of Roki Sasaki's Crazy Stuff from today (8Ks over 3.2 IP). T102 MPH
He's 21 years old. pic.twitter.com/smfHKkyUGO
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 11, 2023
He also demonstrated some phenomenal sportsmanship when he apologized for hitting a Czech player with a 101 mph fastball and presenting him with gifts after the game.
So, why isn't he in MLB?
It’s a complicated question, but in general, Japan is very protective of its talent. In order to make the move from NPB to MLB, there is a posting system in place.
It works like this, according to Baseball Reference:
For a player to be posted, both the team and player must agree on the posting; usually the player requests to be posted. The team then notifies the NPB Commissioner’s Office that the player will be posted, who then notifies MLB, which in turns notifies all of its teams. The MLB teams used to have four days to submit a “silent” bid for the right to negotiate a contract with the player to the MLB Commissioner’s Office. After the fourth day, the NPB team (via the Commissioner’s Office) was notified of the highest bidder and has four days to accept or reject the bid. If the bid was accepted, the winning MLB team has thirty (30) days to reach an agreement with the player. If the bid was rejected, the player stayed put.
Players often spend nearly a decade in NPB before they’re posted and very few leave Japan before they turn 25. The obvious exception was Ohtani who joined the Los Angeles Angels at 23 years old. But he agreed to an MLB minimum salary and $2.32 million signing bonus to make that happen.
In order for Sasaki to move to MLB, he’d have to ask the Marines to post him. For now, he seems content with playing in Japan.
What is Sasaki saying about a move to MLB?
Sasaki has been asked about a potential MLB move, especially when competing on the world stage during the WBC.
And while he’s made it clear that he wants to play in MLB, he’s not looking to make an immediate jump. Sasaki said via ESPN:
“That is my dream. … I will play in Japan, and then I think something will become clear when I’m going to shift over.”
ESPN’s Jeff Passan also reported that Ohtani had been offering Sasaki advice about a potential early move to MLB. So, it could happen. The “when” of it all just remains the big question.
When can we expect to see Sasaki in MLB?
Again, it’s a tough question to answer because it depends on Sasaki initiating the posting process and the Marines agreeing to it.
In a typical scenario, he would be posted after turning 25, which would be for the 2027 season. That’s a LONG time to wait, particularly for a player of his caliber.
If he dominates against Mexico on Monday, there will be pressure to accelerate that timeline. But unless he follows Ohtani’s lead and heads to MLB early, it’s going to be four more years of waiting for those eager MLB teams.
