The Arms Race

Sasaki should be working on pitches in the minors or relegated to the pen. At this point in time, he does not have a starting pitchers’ weapons.

it’s been reported, that the team feels He’s too good to learn in the minors. That his stuff, specifically, is just is too good for that level . As number six starters go, is he really that bad?

He has weapons. He just has no idea where they’re going.

So far? Yes. He puts a strain on the bullpen every time he pitches. He has pitched in four games and is averaging 4.1 innings a game. 17 Ks, 11 walks and a hit batter. His stuff may be too good for that level, but major league hitters figure him out very quickly. He throws too many balls. He tries to be too fine and hit the corners. Reminds me a lot of Maeda and the way he would always nibble. Sasaki does not attack the strike zone. I also thing that leg kick of his allows runners to steal at will. Sasaki has sasuckyed lately. He is definitely better suited for the pen at least at this point in his career. I put him in the pen and use him late in games. Starting rotation should be Sheehan, Yoshi, Shohei, Wrobo, Glasnow, and Snell when he gets healthy.

Exactly my point. He does not pitch with confidence, and he looks like he is scared out there. Overrated is what he is. Yes, he is young, but his arsenal does not match the hype before he was signed. George hitting over .400 at Tulsa. Stole 3 more bags today, now has 11. Dodgers should never lose to teams that are as bad as Colorado. This game was embarrassing.

Well Mark I’m glad you said it because I was thinking the same thing when I mentioned the Dodgers might be looking for another arm. Or two. Maybe it comes from within the system, maybe they trade for one mid season. Personally I don’t see Glasnow , 33 in August, taking the ball every 6th day. since he’s never done it his entire career. I’d like to see Ohtani get some down time in the summer so he can be 100% in October. Same with Yamamoto. Snell? With his history, who knows. This staff, as deep as it is, could be one of the best in all of baseball. Or this staff, with its age and history, could wobble by late summer. I’m not saying I think it will, I’m just saying I think it could.

MiLB report has been added.

Appreciate it

I agree that Sasaki is more apt to succeed as a reliever than as a starter. However, the Dodgers need a 6-man rotation with Yamamoto and Ohtani, and probably Glasnow. Who do you suggest the Dodgers start over Sasaki before Snell gets back. River Ryan is hurt and on the IL, and is going to need time to get up to 5-6 innings at MiLB before he is ready. Snell will probably be ready before that happens. Gavin Stone is just starting his throwing program. Jackson Ferris is not close to being ready? Luke Fox? Patrick Copen? Neither are close. Cole Irvin? I do not see him as a better starting option to Sasaki. I said it during the Winter and again last week. Sign Lucas Giolito. We cannot blame Sasaki for an overworked bullpen in today’s game. Treinen and Diaz were certainly not overworked. Klein and Vesia were the two that pitched back to back, and they did fine.

There will be a Blockbuster Trade for a top end SP. https://heavy.com/sports/mlb/boston-red-sox/struggling-player-still-owed-over-150-million-crochet/ I can see him as a potential target. We like doing business with Boston, and AF might wanna get him on board before they inevitable realignment of the Baseball payroll at the end of this season. Shohei and Yoshi will need rest, and I’m not holding my breath for Snell. Glasnow is not one to be relied on either health wise, as good as he is.

As was mentlioned both Diaz and Sasaki have lost considerable velo on their fastball. In Sasakis case it is 4-5 mph in comparision to what he had in Japan. Lets hope that with Diaz it really is not an arm thing but only knee discomfort. But the way the Dodgers are handing out information about the healtyh of their players we can only keep our fingers crossed. That Morales kid looks like the real deal. Hope they put him on the fast track. dePaula also looking great so far at AA. OTOH Quintero off to a real slow start at GL

Do the Dodgers still have a fast track? Off the top of my head, Julio Urias is the last teenager to reach the majors for the Dodgers, and before him there was Fernando. Something about Mexican pitching prodigies, it seems. Who was the last teenager to make the Dodgers roster as a position player? Was it 18-year-old Willie Crawford in the 1960s? Oh wait: It was Adrian Beltre, who should have been a Dodger for life. (What was the front office thinking???) (Bear! Can I get some historical help here!) It’s hard to draft late and come up with prodigies like Connor Griffin. But Soto, Acuna, Chourio and others are international signees. Other teams, I suspect, might be eager to fast-track guys like De Paula and Morales, but that doesn’t seem to be the Dodgers’ way. With a roster stacked with well-paid veterans, there’s no reason to rush the young talent. Morales seems well-positioned to succeed Max. Meanwhile, there may be a seven-way competition to eventually succeed Teo. I’m sure I’m not the only LADT devotee to notice Mark’s snarky dig at James Outman, who finally got his first hits this season for the Twins. Mark’s readers will remember his habit of dissing the “lucky” Outman while heaping praise on Miguel Timm–um, Vargas. Mark had long pimped Vargas’s hitting ability–and the Dodgers brass thought so highly of Vargas that they had gift-wrapped the 2B job for him, which turned out to be a bad idea. Anyway, Mark compared them constantly. In their rookie years, when Outman slumped and Vargas briefly got hot, he likened Miguelito to Aesop’s triumphant tortoise to Outman’s hare. As it turned out, Outman finished 3rd in ROY voting and Vargas finished in Oklahoma. Many LADT readers, I suspect, find it amusing when Mark insists that he doesn’t have favorites or, presumably, non-favorites. Ri-i-i-ight. So in the spirit of comparing Outman and Vargas, I figured it was only fair to check up Miguelito. Turns out he’s cooled off a bit, with his BA down to .173. Oh well. Somebody around here likes to remind us that progress isn’t linear. Here’s hoping that both Outman and Vargas go on a tear and play happily ever after.

On YouTube, Jomboy Media had some entertaining video about Maddux Bruns. As most of us know, Bruns has been a disappointement since the Dodgers used their first round draft pick for the lefty a few years back. Control is the problem. The video shows Bruns, pitching for Tulsa, hit a batter named Harris with a pitch to load the bases. Harris later advances to 3B with the bases loaded–and notices that Bruns isn’t paying attention to him. So he steals home. Bruns learned so much from this embarrassment that he ignored the next baserunner on 3B–and that guy stole home too. The next time Harris comes up, Bruns pitches him inside. Harris then appeared to remind the ump that he’d already been hit by Bruns and also stole home on him. Two more inside pitches. Then, as Bruns winds up, Harris backs a couple feet away from the plate–and Bruns still plunks him. Harris seemed more dismayed than angry, like WTF dude? No violence. The umps give everybody a warning…. FWIW, the Jomboy guy semi-defended Bruns, pointing out it took years for Randy Johnson to harness his talent. But Burns sure looks like a good change-of-scenery candidate to me.

Thanks Jeff. You’ve made this a one stop shopping spot for everything Dodgers. Best blog in baseball!

That sounds like a scene out of a movie. Did that really happen or did AI make it up? Another candidate for a change of scenery is Ward. He belongs. But it won’t happen here.

It’s nice to see I still live in your head… rent free! 😉 I thought that Ray Charles could see Outman had a hole in his swing the size of the Grand Canyon. You did pick a day when Miggy went 2-3 with his 3rd HR. His OPS is up to .675. so he is not a complete disaster. He had a hot spring but started off very slowly. This is the year he HAS TO DELIVER. Outman? Once MLB has “Joey Gallowed” you, it’s over. I never said he beat up little old ladies and stole their purses. He is a great guy who just can’t play at the MLB level. That’s all! I still think he’s your brother.

It’s true: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1632181454685973 I think Bruns problem is a lack of Grey matter between his ears!

Who the hell is thinking about those chumps? We got Edman, Kopech & a prospect out of it so we’re way ahead.

This is not true. Sasaki’s FB has always been high 90s to 100, which is where he still is. I fear we are slipping back into silliness. Instead of calling for a change in hitting coaches, it’s now a rash change of start eaters or reappropriating of assets. Sasaki is still young, he has tremendous arm talent, and has much more value as a contributing starter than a reliever. It’s not really a burden on the team as a starter. It was at altitude last night, and he’s still developing a third pitch. In an ideal world would he develop it quicker or elsewhere? Come back to the majors fully formed? Of course. Who knows? I could be wrong. He could be sent down when Snell is healthy. Until then the Dodgers will have to “suffer” with a high-talent, high-upside, very young sixth starter who is still developing on the best team in MLB.

In NPB, Roki Sasaki was a flamethrower who averaged 98–99 mph but regularly hit 100–102 mph. Since coming to MLB, his typical sitting velocity is 97–98 mph, and he frequently touches 99 mph. In some outings, he dips to the mid-90s, especially when command and/or mechanics are off. There are a few reasons people think it’s dropped: 1. Mechanics; 2. Injury; 3. Both.

I periodically go back and look at players the Dodgers had in their farm system and traded away. Like Dustin May, who is now with the Cardinals, doing what Dustin May does: 2-2; 6.98 ERA; 1.60 WHIP One of my favorites was Kaybear Ruiz, who is languishing at .220 with a .616 OPS (I missed on that one) Another one I was wrong on was Alex Verdugo, who is in the San Diego Padres organization, rehabbing a sore throwing shoulder at their spring training complex in Arizona. He signed a minor-league contract on March 1, 2026, and is expected to report to Triple-A El Paso once fully recovered. Colton Wong is hitting .333 for the Red Sox with a .885 OPS. Who knew?

Larger, less tacky ball in MLB as well.

Yes. Thanks Jeff. The box scores help me quite a bit. Been reading those for years. There’s also access to team stats there. And reading the OKC team stats tells me that staff is getting clobbered.

Good point!

I guess, there is a lot of qualified writing there, but baseball savant has him: https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/roki-sasaki-808963?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb