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On the latest episode of "Baseball Bar-B-Cast," hosts Jordan Shusterman and Jake Mintz delved into the recent struggles of Roki Sasaki, the talented pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
On Saturday against the Detroit Tigers, Sasaki had a tough outing in which he managed to secure only five outs before he was pulled from the game. The hosts noted his visible frustration and possible tears in the dugout.
"[Sasaki] was awful. Worse than he looked in Japan," Mintz said. "The fastball command was abysmal. He was missing arm-side with the heater, particularly to lefties. Just couldn't figure it out. And he was clearly frazzled throughout the entire outing."
For Mintz, it boils down to one thing: "He's not ready for this right now."
The podcast discussion revolved around the Dodgers' strategy in developing Sasaki, given the high expectations for him after his move from Japan. Mintz and Shusterman debated the pros and cons of keeping him in the major leagues versus sending him to Triple-A to work on his command in a less pressurized environment.
As Mintz put it, "The Dodgers can afford for Roki to figure this out at the big-league level. That is part of what they pitched to him. They're so talented, so deep that he can go out there and throw up stinkers and work on stuff and effectively use a big-league game as a minor-league development experience. And they can still win.
"But is that what's best for his development right now? I'm not sure."
While the Dodgers' deep and talented roster affords them the flexibility to let Sasaki to develop at the highest level, there's a valid argument to give him an opportunity to refine his skills and build confidence in Oklahoma City, away from the bright lights of L.A., which could, in turn, be more beneficial for his long-term development.
What's more, as Shusterman pointed out, the Dodgers have so many other options that their rotation is not reliant on Sasaki at this point in time.
"They did not need to fast-track Roki in this way," he said. "They didn't. Not only because they can obviously win without him, but literally they have so many other pitchers that are more than good enough to fill in his spot."
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