This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Sasaki goes to the splitter: 52.2% of his two-strike pitches, against 30.4% the rest of the time.
180 two-strike pitches in 2026.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .396 expected average against them, against .224 on his breaking balls.
279 of his fastballs thrown.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Sasaki's 4-seam fastball averages 97.0 mph, and has touched 99.5.
277 thrown, 43.7% of his pitches.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Sasaki throws a fastball 55.7% of the time, against 29.7% when he is ahead.
192 pitches behind in the count, 182 ahead.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Sasaki's 4-seam fastball carries 15.0 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
277 thrown, averaging 97.0 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Sasaki's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 93.8 mph, against 81.0 off his slider.
277 and 123 of them thrown.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Sasaki's stuff spins at 1,632 rpm, 1st percentile in the league.
634 pitches in 2026. 1st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 533rd in MLB.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Sasaki lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.13 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
634 located pitches in 2026.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Sasaki releases the ball 7.1 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
470 tracked pitches in 2026.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Sasaki throws 37.9% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 44.4% with the bases empty.
145 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 489 with the bases empty.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Sasaki puts 45.6% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 41.1% of his pitches to left-handers.
250 pitches to right-handed hitters, 384 to left-handed hitters.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Sasaki averages 91.4 mph across his arsenal, 73rd percentile in the league.
634 pitches in 2026. 73rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 147th in MLB.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
46.2% of the contact Sasaki gives up is hit hard, 20th percentile.
634 pitches in 2026. 20th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 430th in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Sasaki works with 3 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Splitter and Slider. The 4-seam fastball is 43.7% of everything he throws.
634 classified pitches in 2026.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Sasaki's fastball averages 97.4 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 96.5 past his 75th.
93 early fastballs, 46 late ones.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Sasaki lands 49.1% of his fastballs in the zone and only 34.5% of his offspeed pitches.
279 of his fastballs, 232 of his offspeed pitches.
He lives on one side of the plate
Sasaki works away from right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.5 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
634 located pitches in 2026.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 90.1 mph off the bat against Sasaki, 26th percentile.
634 pitches in 2026. 26th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 400th in MLB.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Sasaki puts 51.6% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 39.6% when he is ahead.
192 located pitches behind, 182 ahead.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.8 mph separates Sasaki's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 97.0 against 86.2.
277 and 123 of them respectively.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.5% of Sasaki's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
111 of 634 located pitches.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Sasaki projects a .347 average, 30th percentile.
634 pitches in 2026. 30th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 376th in MLB.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Sasaki's 4-seam fastball moves 8.5 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
277 thrown, averaging 97.0 mph.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Sasaki throws the slider 25.2% of the time against right-handers and 15.6% against left-handers.
250 pitches to right-handers, 384 to left-handers.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Sasaki throws a strike on the first pitch 58% of the time.
157 plate appearances started in 2026.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Sasaki goes to the splitter: 52.2% of his two-strike pitches, against 30.4% the rest of the time.
180 two-strike pitches in 2026.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Sasaki throws a fastball 55.7% of the time, against 29.7% when he is ahead.
192 pitches behind in the count, 182 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Sasaki puts 51.6% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 39.6% when he is ahead.
192 located pitches behind, 182 ahead.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Sasaki throws a strike on the first pitch 58% of the time.
157 plate appearances started in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .396 expected average against them, against .224 on his breaking balls.
279 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Sasaki lands 49.1% of his fastballs in the zone and only 34.5% of his offspeed pitches.
279 of his fastballs, 232 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Sasaki's 4-seam fastball averages 97.0 mph, and has touched 99.5.
277 thrown, 43.7% of his pitches.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Sasaki's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 93.8 mph, against 81.0 off his slider.
277 and 123 of them thrown.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Sasaki works with 3 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Splitter and Slider. The 4-seam fastball is 43.7% of everything he throws.
634 classified pitches in 2026.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.8 mph separates Sasaki's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 97.0 against 86.2.
277 and 123 of them respectively.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Sasaki throws the slider 25.2% of the time against right-handers and 15.6% against left-handers.
250 pitches to right-handers, 384 to left-handers.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Sasaki's 4-seam fastball carries 15.0 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
277 thrown, averaging 97.0 mph.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Sasaki's 4-seam fastball moves 8.5 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
277 thrown, averaging 97.0 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Sasaki's stuff spins at 1,632 rpm, 1st percentile in the league.
634 pitches in 2026. 1st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 533rd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Sasaki lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.13 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
634 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on one side of the plate
Sasaki works away from right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.5 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
634 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.5% of Sasaki's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
111 of 634 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Sasaki releases the ball 7.1 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
470 tracked pitches in 2026.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Sasaki's fastball averages 97.4 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 96.5 past his 75th.
93 early fastballs, 46 late ones.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Sasaki throws 37.9% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 44.4% with the bases empty.
145 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 489 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Sasaki puts 45.6% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 41.1% of his pitches to left-handers.
250 pitches to right-handed hitters, 384 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Sasaki averages 91.4 mph across his arsenal, 73rd percentile in the league.
634 pitches in 2026. 73rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 147th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Too much of the contact against him is loud
46.2% of the contact Sasaki gives up is hit hard, 20th percentile.
634 pitches in 2026. 20th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 430th in MLB.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 90.1 mph off the bat against Sasaki, 26th percentile.
634 pitches in 2026. 26th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 400th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Sasaki projects a .347 average, 30th percentile.
634 pitches in 2026. 30th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 376th in MLB.
Dodgers
Career team 2025–2026