Roki

Sasaki

Sasaki, 22, is widely considered one of the most talented pitchers in the world. Passan reports that the relationship between Sasaki and the Marines has become fractured after they didn’t honor his request last offseason, but that it’s just as possible — maybe even likely — that he’ll not be available again this winter. If Sasaki is posted, there will be numerous suiters for the right-hander, as he has the stuff to potentially pitch at the top of a rotation as soon as 2025.

Sasaki is one of the best pitchers on the planet, and the 22-year-old has registered a 1.78 ERA over 91 innings of work with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball in 2024. The right-hander will be one of the most sought after players on the market, and assuming he does get posted this winter, he’ll be someone who becomes fantasy relevant immediately in 2025.

Sasaki made headlines earlier this offseason when he abruptly requested to be posted and there was a chance he would wind up holding out into the 2024 season. The 22-year-old righty is one of the most talented pitchers to come out of Japan in recent decades and appears likely to jump to the majors in 2025.

Sasaki’s current team, the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Nippon Professional, are highly unlikely to grant his request before the league’s December 15 posting deadline. However, it’s a significant development as it signals that the 22-year-old pitching sensation is eager to jump to the majors, which could certainly expedite his stateside timeline. It’s highly unlikely that he’ll wind up being posted this offseason, but he’s one of the most exciting international prospects in decades, which makes this a developing situation fantasy managers should monitor closely.

Sasaki is in jeopardy of missing the remainder of the regular season after posting a stellar 1.48 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and 130/15 K/BB ratio across 85 innings (13 starts) for the Chiba Lotte Marines. The 21-year-old right-hander is considered the top international pitching prospect in baseball and has a chance to make an impact for fantasy managers in a few years.

The right-hander struck out three on the night and didn’t walk a batter. The only damage done against him came in his fourth and final inning of work. After cruising through the first 3 2/3 innings, Sasaki allowed two-out singles to Rowdy Tellez and Isaac Paredes before Luis Urias crushed a game-changing three-run homer. He got 12 swings and misses on 64 pitches on the night, posting an elite CSW of 39 percent. Sasaki’s fastball averaged 100.4 mph and hit as high as 101.6 mph, while his sinker averaged 100.6 and hit as high as 101.9 mph on the radar gun. The 21-year-old hurler certainly impressed on the World’s biggest stage throughout the tournament.

The impressive 21-year-old allowed an unearned run in 3 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts in his start against the Czech Republic last Saturday. The hard-throwing right-hander will be followed by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, so Team Mexico has quite the task at hand in order to advance to the championship game on Tuesday.

Sasaki generated 22 swinging strikes and finished with a sublime 42 percent CSW (called strikes plus whiffs), needing just 66 pitches to work into the fourth inning. The 21-year-old righty is regarded as one of the top international prospects in some time, but its unclear yet if he’s interested in jumping to the majors at some point in his career.