The Dodgers’ Roki Sasaki has had an unsatisfactory start to the season

Hopes are low, cut too low, and anything other than outright disaster will be considered a victory.

Never mind that Roki Sasaki was possibly the most talented striker to ever come out of Japan. It doesn’t matter that he was expected to be competing for the Cy Young Award now.

Nothing about his season debut on Monday was particularly convincing, but Sasaki pitched four innings without embarrassing himself, and the Dodgers will have to be content with that for now.

Sasaki’s place in the rotation should be evaluated on a first-come, first-served basis, which beats the other way of quickly deciding whether the 24-year-old should be moved to the bullpen or sent to the minors.

The metaphorical can was kicked down in a 4–2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, and the fact that it felt like a victory speaks to how low Sasaki’s stock has fallen.

Remember, this is the same hole Paul Skenes was compared to in his introductory news conference by Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes.

About the only person to voice this opinion was Sasaki himself, as he went out of his way to remind Dodgers fan reporters that he shouldn’t be credited for holding the overly aggressive and talentless Rangers for more than four innings.

“The results did not satisfy me, but I think I like to move forward with confidence knowing that although it was bad, it was better than in the spring,” said Sasaki in Japanese.

Spring training was rough for Sasaki, who posted a 15.58 earned run average in four exhibition games. The experience disturbed him, and that affected how he felt when he started.

“I wasn’t that confident,” he said. “Honestly, I think I was more unsure than anyone.”

But compared to last season, Sasaki was better able to hold his speed throughout camp, and this trend carried over to his performances with the scouts.

Of the 38 four-seamer balls he threw, five were 99 mph or faster, 16 were 98 mph or faster and 28 were 97 mph or faster. Facing the only batter he faced in the fifth inning, Angel Martinez, hit 97.9 mph.

“If the results get better and I can throw with more confidence, I think I can throw more,” said Sasaki, explaining that after an exhibition season in which he could not throw strikes, he prioritized the placement of his pitches over their speed.

Sasaki successfully used his newly developed cutter, which produced four swing-and-misses. In total, he registered four strikers.

“I thought he did a better job offensively tonight,” manager Dave Roberts said.

Positive developments are almost ignored by the continuation of certain disturbing patterns. While he only walked two batters, that number was more indicative of Guardian’s lack of plate discipline than his command.

When he didn’t miss a spot, he sometimes threw meatballs and the guards failed to punish him. The only time they did it was in the third inning. With a 1-2 count, Sasaki threw a double to right field to Austin Hedges. Two batters later, he threw a cutter to Steven Kwan that landed over the heart of the plate. Kwan doubled, Hedges scored and the Rangers went ahead, 1-0.

Perhaps most troubling is how he seems to have lost his signature forkball feel. He only threw 28% of the time when striking out, and when he missed the field he also missed a tie.

Sasaki stepped back against this guard.

“There’s a lot of reasons for that, and I’d like to think about that, but I got strikes with it and threw some good ones, so I think I have to make a little adjustment,” he said.

In showing some measure of defiance, Sasaki at least seemed to have regained a small part of what was lost. After a rough start in his last exhibition game, Sasaki showed no such fight, even saying he would accept a demotion to the minor leagues if the Dodgers believed it would be in his best interest.

That doesn’t mean Sasaki is anywhere near where he wants to be. He’s smart enough to know he’s a liability for the bullpen, especially since Emmet Sheehan also looks out of sorts and can’t be counted on to eat up innings.

But if Sasaki fails to prove beyond a doubt that he belongs on a team with World Series aspirations, he hasn’t taken himself out of consideration either.

The Dodgers will take that — for now.

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