White Sox batters had the opportunity to face No. 1 prospect Roki Sasaki on Tuesday morning in Glendale. The Dodgers’ international phenom made his first appearance in a sim game with a large crowd on hand.
Based on the highlights trickling in, catching prospect Kyle Teel stole the show when he crushed a home run to right field in his first appearance at the plate. Just Baseball’s Aram Leighton and the White Sox social media team captured video of the blast, which came on just the second pitch of his at-bat.
Sasaki reportedly settled down after this, retiring the next six batters with one swinging strikeout. Los Angeles Times beat writer Jack Harris, who was on-site, reports Sasaki ended his appearance with a walk-double-walk and threw 38 pitches. Tim Elko was among the White Sox hitters who recorded some loud contact after struggling in his first at-bat.
Full video of Sasaki’s first two innings is already available on YouTube, which is linked below.
Sasaki, 23, currently has a chance to become one of the best pitchers to ever come from NPB, according to MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo. The right-hander first sent shockwaves around the baseball world in 2022 when he came within three outs of throwing back-to-back perfect games. He did so under 2005 World Series champion Tadahito Iguchi, who managed the Nippon Professional Baseball’s Chiba Lotte Marines from 2021-22 until his resignation.
GM Chris Getz told reporters at the Winter Meetings that the Sox would be putting together a presentation for the free agent. It was never expected for the club to be considered a serious contender to land the prized pitcher, rather they were performing their due diligence like most other teams. By January, it became public knowledge that the Sox were no longer in consideration.
In four seasons with Chiba Lotte, Sasaki has a 2.02 ERA, 11.4 K/9, and 2.0 BB/9 rate across 414.2 innings. He also made his presence felt in the 2023 World Baseball Classic when he struck out 11 hitters over 7.2 innings for Team Japan.
All eyes will be on the young pitcher throughout Spring Training as he gears up for his first Major League season. For now, however, White Sox fans can enjoy the glimpses of what’s to come from their prospects.
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