Roki Sasaki DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki allowed one run across four innings of work in his start against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday afternoon. Sasaki was given a no decision. He struck out four batters and allowed three hits and two walks. Sasaki allowed two straight singles to open the contest but was able to escape the inning by allowing just one run, off an Alec Bohm RBI groundout. This was a nice bounce-back for Sasaki, as he was only able to log one 2/3 innings in his previous outing against the Detroit Tigers. In this start, he allowed three hits, four walks, and a run. The 23-year-old saw similar issues in his first start of the campaign overseas, facing the Cubs, as he allowed three hits and two walks across four innings of work. While Sasaki carries elite strikeout upside, his lack of control does add a lot of risk. He will look to continue to develop in his next start against the Cubs.

Los Angeles Dodgers rookie starting pitcher Roki Sasaki couldn't get through two full innings of work on Saturday, getting only five outs before being pulled. However, the Dodgers would still prevail 7-3 over the Tigers. Sasaki allowed two runs on three hits and four walks while striking out two batters, throwing just a hair over half of his 61 pitches for strikes. For the season, the 23-year-old has allowed three earned runs on four hits and owns an ugly 9:5 BB:K over 4 2/3 innings pitched. He'll need to clean that up, or his next start on the road in Philadelphia could be a rough one as well.

In his first career MLB start in Tokyo, Japan, against the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers rookie right-hander Roki Sasaki picked up a no-decision by allowing one earned run on one hit while walking five and striking out three in only three innings pitched. The 23-year-old was a bit wild, and the one run he allowed came home on a bases-loaded walk in the third inning, but he was able to escape the jam by inducing two strikeouts to end the inning. Things could have been a lot worse for the young Japanese hurler in his first outing against Chicago. Sasaki's stuff is real and should play in the big leagues, but expect the Dodgers to continue to limit him early in the year from an innings perspective, which will limit his fantasy upside as a No. 2 starter. Sasaki is also going to need to show better control to be effective.

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki was officially added to the 40-man roster on Monday ahead of the team's Tokyo Series set to run March 18-19. This was expected all along, but the move was more of a formality. Baseball's No.1-ranked prospect tossed seven innings of scoreless ball in Cactus League action, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out seven batters. He's expected to start Game 2 in Japan against the Cubs, and we'll get our first chance to see him in a regular season game, but even if he pitches well, don't expect him to go deep into the contest. Looking ahead, the 23-year-old should be a solid source of wins, ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts for fantasy this season, but some caution is warranted as he very well could face workload restrictions throughout the year.