PHOENIX — No translation was needed for Hyeseong Kim’s review of Roki Sasaki’s new slider.
“Good,” Kim said in English.
Good enough for the Korean infielder to swing on the field and miss Saturday in live batting practice against Sasaki.
Project Roki is underway at Camelback Ranch, the ninth-inning sensation of the Dodgers’ most recent World Series run, working to solidify a spot in the team’s rotation.
Sasaki is armed with two weapons that have made him a dominant pitcher in Japan, as well as the country’s most anticipated baseball export since Shohei Ohtani: a 100-mph fastball and a Wiffle-ball-style forkball.
Last year, more than 83% of the pitches he threw were fastballs or forkballs. Finding success as a Major League starter will be nearly impossible with only two effective pitches. That’s why the 24-year-old Sasaki is looking to incorporate a slider or cutter into his arsenal, or perhaps both.
Sasaki said he threw out the slower variation of the slider he threw last season, which was not only hittable but also contributed to shoulder problems that sidelined him for four months. He is now experimenting with a faster version of the pitch he threw in Japan earlier in his career, with a spiral spin.
“I didn’t like the slider I threw last year,” Sasaki said in Japanese. “In reality, the results weren’t that good either.”
Before being placed on the injured list last year, Sasaki made eight starts, posting a 4.72 ERA.
Kim’s swing-and-miss on Saturday was a positive sign, but Sasaki said he still doesn’t have a clear vision for a pitch that will move away from right-handed hitters, whether it’s a slider or a cutter or something in between. Sasaki said he also plans to use a two-seam.
By adding a slider or cutter and a two-seam that moves in the opposite direction, Sasaki said, “I think it will bring my fastball and forkball to life.”
Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said: “If he executes and splits the fastball the way he’s capable of doing so, with what he’s done in the past, that’s a great foundation. Anything on top of that will only make things more challenging for opponents.”
Sasaki downplayed the extent of the changes he made, saying he started working on the new fields last year. Whatever he adds to his pitch mix, comfort will be a major priority.
“As much as possible, I don’t want this to affect my current throwing motion,” he said.
Sasaki showed why that was important to him when he pitched to Kim and minor league catcher Seby Zavala. His fastball reached 98.6 mph.
Reflecting on his first season with the Dodgers last year, Sasaki said, “It was less about me getting to the big leagues and more about my stumbles.”
He believes that once he starts competing at this level without physical limitations, he should be able to see the issues he needs to overcome in order to excel.
“My goal is to continue pitching so I can see those challenges,” Sasaki said.
Returning in the final week of the regular season as a reliever and enjoying success as a closer in the playoffs last year was helpful, Sasaki said.
“Instead of ending at the end of the spring (when I was placed on the injured list), it was obviously better to end on a good note in the postseason,” he said. “It’s easier now to imagine something good. I’ve been able to see something good, so in that sense I think I can pitch a little more relaxed.”
Sasaki also draws inspiration from a visit he made in the winter.
In December, Japan’s Sasaki held a baseball clinic for 170 primary school students in the coastal city of Suzu, which was destroyed by an earthquake in 2024. He said he contacted the city midway through last season to make arrangements. He ran with the children, watched them catch and answered their questions. Before they left, he presented each of them with a signed baseball.
Sasaki was able to empathize with the children, as his own life was shaped by a major earthquake. When he was nine, his family home in Rikuzentakata was swept into the ocean by a tsunami. He lost his father and several grandparents in the disaster.
“That was the first time I participated in a baseball clinic,” Sasaki said. “It’s an experience you don’t normally have. I got different kinds of strength from the kids.”
He’s now channeling that into a new arsenal, a new season and possibly a new identity as a pitcher.
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