When the Los Angles Dodgers landed Roki Sasaki in free agency, many believed the team acquired another ace-caliber pitcher to slot into the rotation in 2025, and while he may become that one day, he is viewed as a bit of a project.

“Roki Sasaki will draw the most attention, but the Dodgers' expectations for the right-hander are not as lofty as some might expect,” Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic said. “Team officials consider Sasaki something of a project, a developing pitcher who needs to continue refining his slider as a third pitch to complement his fastball and split. And at 23, it's not as if Sasaki is going to pitch 160 innings. His career-high in Japan, back in 2022, was 129 1/3.”

Sasaki's upside is still very high, but there are some flaws, specifically with the fastball shape. His splitter is a great pitch, and should be effective right away, but the fastball is a work in progress, and his command will be very important.

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At 23 years old and given the other pitchers the Dodgers have in the organization, the pressure is not on Sasaki to be an instant success. The team can work with him to steadily improve in the early going in his career.

Sasaki being somewhat of a project also does not mean that he will not be good in his rookie season. He likely is still a top contender for the Rookie of the Year Award in the National League. It comes a lot down to health and how many innings the Dodgers let him pitch.

It will be interesting to see how Sasaki fares in the early going, and how he improves or adjusts throughout the season. He will make his second ever MLB start, and first start in the United States, on Saturday against the Detroit Tigers at Dodgers Stadium.