Pitching is great, but stamina is...'Monster pitcher' Sasaki could go more than a week between starts, may not even make it to regulation this year

 Roki Sasaki (22), a right-handed pitcher for the Chiba Lotte Marines. He has the best fastball in Nippon Professional Baseball right now. A key part of Japan's World Baseball Classic (WBC) victory, Sasaki threw a 165 kilometer per hour fastball several times in the regular season this year. His fastball reached 164 mph, which is the fastest Japanese fastball ever recorded by Shohei Ohtani (29-LA Angels) during his time with the Nippon Ham Fighters.

Sasaki has started nine games this year, throwing 57 innings and striking out 86 batters. He leads both leagues in strikeouts by a pitcher who hasn't pitched a regulation inning. 안전사이트

However, there is a weakness. Injuries are a big risk, and they need to be managed at the club level. They need to be rested regularly. Because of this, they don't consistently rotate in the starting rotation and pitch fewer innings. Some say it"s overprotection.

Last season, his third year as a pro and first full-time, he pitched 129⅓ innings. He was 13⅔ innings short of the required number. It's possible he won't make it this year either.

He's been pitching once a week on six days' rest, but he's been showing signs of fatigue in recent games. Lotte manager Masato Yoshii said that he thinks he needs to go longer between starts.

Sasaki has allowed six runs in 13 innings in his last two games. He allowed two runs in seven innings against the Hiroshima Carp on June 11 and four runs in six innings against the Yokohama BayStars on June 18. He threw a total of 204 pitches in those two games.

Against Yokohama, he gave up his most runs of the year and hit his first home run. It's a situation the coaching staff will have to monitor closely.

In May, he was shut down for more than three weeks. On May 5 against the SoftBank Hawks, he developed a blister on his finger. He treated the blister, rested, and returned on May 28 against SoftBank. In that game, he pitched six innings and gave up two runs. After returning from the break, he lost two of his next four games.

He has been compared to his WBC teammate and classmate Hiroya Miyagi (22). Miyagi, who is a regular starter for Yoshinobu Yamamoto (25) and the Orix Buffaloes, has a 6-2 record in 10 appearances. 메이저놀이터

In 64⅔ innings pitched, he has two complete games.

Sasaki's only other complete game came against the Orix in April of last year.

Sasaki is expected to pitch against the O's on April 27-28.