Fastball

Former Cy Young Winner Gives Very High Assessment of Japanese Free Agent Roki Sasaki

Dallas Keuchel spent time playing in Japan during the 2024 season and he got a first-hand look at Sasaki as he gets ready to transition to the United States.

Brady Farkas

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Dallas Keuchel (60) throws during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on July 7.
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Dallas Keuchel (60) throws during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on July 7. / Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images
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This weekend, it became known that 23-year-old Japanese sensation Roki Sasaki will be posted this offseason. He will be free to sign with any major league team, at an incredibly affordable rate. This is similar to what Shohei Ohtani did when he came to the United States, signing with the Los Angeles Angels.

Former American League Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel played in Japan for a portion of the 2024 season and was teammates with Sasaki.

He spoke with Joel Sherman of the New York Post recently, giving a detailed and highly complimentary assessment of the right-hander.

“He’s a curious young man, who is very quiet, even for his own Japanese culture,” Keuchel said. “But I think he loves winning and I think he loves baseball, so you can’t really discount that. I think he literally wants to be the best version of himself he can be. And I really believe he thinks he can be one of the best pitchers of all time.”

Keuchel also complimented Sasaki's fastball velocity and off-speed offerings, including his excellent splitter. He also implied that Sasaki was a good teammate and easy to be around.

Around baseball circles, the Los Angeles Dodgers are viewed as the heavy favorite to sign Sasaki. They've already got a huge Japanese presence with Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The three played together for Team Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. It likely can't be discounted that Yu Darvish previously played for the Dodgers and Hideo Nomo starred with them after coming over to the United States as well.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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