The version of Roki Sasaki we’ve seen with the Los Angeles Dodgers is not the same pitcher we saw clips of lighting the proverbial world on fire in his native Japan.
Sasaki was known for pumping fastballs in routinely in the upper 90s — and even north of 100 miles per hour.
While we’ve seen him touch 97-98 mph on occasion, his fastball has been sitting uncharacteristically in the low-to-mid 90s — a far cry from his performance in the World Baseball Classic a few years ago.
Read more: Dodgers Place Roki Sasaki on Injured List With Shoulder Injury
As Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times chronicled, something was not right with Sasaki.