Los Angeles Dodgers director of pitching Rob Hill revealed how he fixed rookie Roki Sasaki’s pitch, turning him into the flame-throwing right-hander the Dodgers envisioned when they signed him this offseason.
Sasaki suffered a right shoulder collision in May and had a difficult time during his rehabilitation period, which lasted more than a month. He wasn’t getting results in Triple-A, and his fastball velocity was down in the mid-90s from the 100 mph he showed earlier in the season.
Hill held a meeting with Sasaki when the 23-year-old finally relented to the staff for help with his delivery, putting to rest any concerns Sasaki may have had. He said all he cared about was Sasaki’s improvement.
“You can tell me that you want to turn upside down on your head halfway through your delivery.” said Hill. “If it gets to 100, I’m just going to sit back and watch. I’m not going to push you into a box. I’m not going to tell you to move a certain way, to use your glutes, to use your foot. I’m just going to ask you different things that make sense in your head, and then we’re going to find a way to make it come to life.”
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After Hill and Ian Walsh, the Dodgers’ pitching performance coordinator, met with Sasaki, they made the discovery. They discovered that Sasaki was turning too early, disrupting his throw and reducing the amount of force he could put into the ball upon release.
‘Turning the pelvis early just kills everything’ said Hill.
Hill and Walsh quickly found a solution after Sasaki showed them videos of his 2022 and 2023 pitching, where he noticed a difference in the position of his back leg during his delivery. They provided a solution for Sasaki, who excitedly tried out his new delivery as soon as possible.
The right-hander threw a bullpen and saw immediate improvement, hitting a 95-97 mph fastball.
“What I’m trying to do in that statement is basically figure out whether this is a software problem or a hardware problem,” said Hill. “For example, is this a skill problem? Or are you injured? Do you have a bony block in your hip that we haven’t properly diagnosed and that’s like basically limiting your ability to do things right? Once it’s somewhat established that it’s not a hardware problem, if you get the joints properly aligned, it can happen quickly, especially in a guy who’s already produced an insane amount of velo in his life.”
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Sasaki’s first appearance after the meeting was on September 9 with Triple-A Oklahoma City, and he immediately looked better than in his four previous rehab outings. He pitched four scoreless innings to open the game, but allowed three runs in the fourth and came out after two outs. Despite the points earned, this outing was a success. Sasaki had once again reached triple figures with his fastball.
Sasaki took on a new role after the outing and agreed to help the Dodgers where they needed it most: the bullpen.
The right-hander played two more games for the Comets before returning to the big league, but as a reliever. He pitched two innings, striking out three batters without allowing a run.
The Dodgers recalled him from the injured list on September 24 and that same day he played his first MLB game in more than four months. Sasaki pitched a shutout inning against the Diamondbacks in his return game, then did the same two games later, which was enough for manager Dave Roberts to earn him a spot on the Dodgers’ Wild Card Series roster against the Cincinnati Reds.
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He showed more of the same against the Reds, coming in for the ninth inning in Game 2 and pitching a perfect inning to secure the Dodgers’ spot against the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS. Sasaki grabbed all the headlines against the Phillies, recording his first two MLB saves away from home and then coming in for three perfect innings in Game 4, which the Dodgers would win to advance to the NLCS for the second straight season.
Sasaki has become the Dodgers’ favorite high-leverage reliever after just six appearances out of the bullpen, and will play a big role for the Dodgers for the remainder of the postseason. The Dodgers will face the Chicago Cubs or Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS, which begins Monday, October 13.
Photo credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
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