Roki Sasaki is putting it together for the Dodgers with a new offspeed pitch

What happened

Roki Sasaki has added a second offspeed pitch to his repertoire and, per FanGraphs, has pitched more effectively over the roughly month-long stretch since making that change — with improved command and velocity accompanying the new offering. The development is notable for a 24-year-old right-hander whose early-season results had kept the questions about his role very much alive.

Why it matters

The top-line numbers through 10 starts — a 4.59 ERA and a 5.04 FIP across 51 innings, per FanGraphs — had not, on their face, suggested a pitcher trending sharply upward. FanGraphs noted that those figures could reasonably lead an observer to conclude Sasaki had made little progress since last year's abbreviated rookie season, a campaign that itself ended with a stint in the bullpen after he missed four and a half months with a shoulder impingement. The bullpen work last fall produced some success, and the conversation about whether he might be better served ironing out his mechanics there — or in Triple-A — had not fully gone away entering this stretch.

What the raw numbers obscure, per FanGraphs, is that the trajectory changed meaningfully about a month ago. The addition of a second offspeed pitch gave Sasaki a new look to deploy, and the improved command and velocity that accompanied it represent the kind of multi-variable progress that tends to be more durable than a single mechanical tweak. A pitcher who is throwing harder, locating better, and presenting hitters with an additional decision is a meaningfully different puzzle than the one who opened the season.

The timing, FanGraphs observed, is particularly useful for the Dodgers, who are once again navigating their rotation without full availability at the top. FanGraphs noted that Los Angeles has been carrying on without key rotation pieces — the piece's reference to specific absences was truncated in the available material — but the broader point is clear: the Dodgers have needed Sasaki to be a reliable presence, and the recent stretch suggests he may be becoming one.

The numbers

Sasaki's season line through 10 starts sits at a 4.59 ERA and a 5.04 FIP in 51 innings, per FanGraphs. Those figures represent the full-season picture and predate the improvement FanGraphs describes over the last month of starts — meaning the recent stretch has looked better than those cumulative numbers reflect, though FanGraphs does not break out a separate split line in the available material.

The Los Angeles Dodgers carry a record of 100-62 (.617), good for first place in the NL West, with a three-game winning streak entering this week's schedule.

Where the club stands

At 100-62, the Dodgers are leading the NL West. They are currently in the middle of a road series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field — Wednesday's game features Shohei Ohtani opposite Zac Gallen, and Thursday's matchup is scheduled to send Justin Wrobleski against Ryne Nelson.

A rotation that has been leaning on its depth has every reason to welcome a starter who appears to be finding a more consistent level. The 100-62 record reflects a team that has managed that depth well so far, but the schedule does not get easier, and reliable innings from Sasaki would matter.

Is Sasaki starting Friday?

Yes — Sasaki is the listed probable starter for Friday, June 5, when the Dodgers return home to UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium to host the Los Angeles Angels. His scheduled opponent on the mound is Reid Detmers. That start will offer the most direct look yet at whether the improvements FanGraphs describes hold up in a game environment, and it arrives at a moment when the Dodgers have every reason to want the answer to be yes.

A home start, with a rotation that has been asking its depth pieces to carry weight — the conditions are about as favorable as a young pitcher could ask for to demonstrate that a month of better results is a signal rather than noise.

What we don't know yet

FanGraphs' framing is careful throughout: the piece describes Sasaki as pitching "more effectively" and attributes that to the new pitch, better command, and improved velocity — but FanGraphs does not attach specific numbers to the recent stretch, does not specify which second offspeed pitch was added, and does not characterize the improvement as anything beyond what the last month of starts has shown. Whether the gains persist, whether the command holds across different counts and game situations, and whether the FIP-ERA gap narrows going forward are all open questions the material does not answer.

The truncated reference to Dodgers rotation absences means the full context of how much Los Angeles is leaning on Sasaki right now is not entirely clear from what FanGraphs published. What is clear is that FanGraphs framed his improvement as arriving "at a particularly opportune time," which implies the need is genuine.

It is also worth noting that FanGraphs' assessment reflects the inherent uncertainty of a one-month sample. A 4.59 ERA and 5.04 FIP over 51 innings is the established baseline; the recent improvement is the claim under observation, and Friday's start is the next data point.

What to watch

The Friday start against the Angels is the immediate thing to track. Beyond that, the question FanGraphs is implicitly raising is whether Sasaki's second offspeed pitch becomes a stable part of his arsenal or functions as a temporary adjustment that hitters eventually solve. Command and velocity improvements are encouraging in isolation; the degree to which they hold across a larger sample — and against lineups that have had time to prepare for the new offering — will determine whether this month represents a turning point or a good stretch in a longer story.

For a Dodgers team at 100-62 and leading the NL West on a three-game winning streak, the rotation picture matters enormously as the schedule deepens. Sasaki settling in as a reliable starter would be a significant development. Per FanGraphs, the last month suggests that possibility is more real than the season-long numbers had indicated. Friday will be worth watching closely.