Can't find it, really looking forward to our verbal battle
(edit: Okay nvm I know now. I wont look up the scrap and we'll save our battle for another day
Man I WISH I was excited for the season. Growing up in IL, die hard cub fan, but Griffey was MY GUY and that Mariner team in the 90s was so so stacked. It's beyond crazy they didn't win a trophy. I wish I was more in to pokemon or NBA as my 10k or so baseball cards aren't worth much more than spare fire wood, tho I've got some rare stuff in that area that I value.
Boycotting the Cubs until the Ricketts decide to spend a few bucks. Thought we had a legit owner, fooled us. However Ohtani back to pitching again I will be watching his games. Being the second coming of Babe Ruth is special and so fun to watch. Though IMO like the Yankees did for so many years, the Dodgers are ruining baseball. It's time to put a hard cap on the game. But I'll be doing some betting just to hold me over for NFL season and Ohtani is a must watch on pitching days.
Wow and the Dodgers have the top prospect and he's a pitcher. 23, and some mind blowing stats. However what fn moron allowed him to throw 194 pitches in 12 innings. It doesnt matter if you 10 or 24 or 50...you don't throw someone out there for anything over maybe 120 TOPS and even then..esp when its not an MLB game. I mean one of the dumbest things I've ever read period.
This is incredible and now I'm excited to see him play, but once again..have the Dodgers ruined baseball?
"Scouting grades: Fastball: 70 | Slider: 55 | Splitter: 80 | Control: 60 | Overall: 65
Sasaki first became famous when he broke Shohei Ohtani's Japanese high school record by throwing 101 mph while striking out 21 during a 194-pitch, 12-inning complete game in the national summer Koshien tournament. The Chiba Lotte Marines selected him No. 1 overall in the Nippon Professional Baseball draft in October 2019 and brought him along slowly, not having him pitch in a game in 2020 and giving him a light workload in '21. Finally turned loose in 2022, he threw a perfect game in his second start, setting an NPB mark with 13 straight strikeouts and tying another with 19 total whiffs, and worked eight perfect innings in his next outing before getting removed to protect his arm.
Over four seasons in the Japanese big leagues, Sasaki posted a 30-15 record with a 2.02 ERA and 524/91 K/BB ratio in 414 2/3 innings, matching an Ohtani NPB record with a 102.5 mph fastball in 2023. That same year, he dazzled with his stuff while helping Japan win the World Baseball Classic, averaging 101 mph with his fastball and 91 mph with a diving splitter in the semifinals against Mexico. Rather than wait two more years for total free agency in which he would be free from MLB international bonus restrictions, he asked the Marines to post him this offseason and they obliged. He met with eight clubs before signing with the Dodgers, who paid him a $6.5 million bonus after trading outfield prospects Dylan Campbell (to the Phillies) and Arnaldo Lantigua (to the Reds) for added international pool funds.
Sasaki's 88-90 mph splitter may be the best pitch in the world, earning top-of-the-scale grades from some scouts for its combination of velocity and depth, and it generated a 57 percent swing-and-miss rate in 2024. His fastball is a plus-plus weapon with running action, though it lost some velocity (averaging 97 mph, down from 99 in 2023) and life last season and can get hit at times when it straightens out. His 83-85 mph slider is his third pitch, but it's a solid-to-plus offering with two-plane depth and misses a lot of bats.
Sasaki repeats his three-quarters delivery well and throws all three of his pitches for quality strikes. The only concern is his health after he missed time with a torn left oblique in 2023 and shoulder soreness in '24, when his stuff wasn't quite as sharp as usual. He'll immediately step into the rotation for the defending World Series champions and has Cy Young Award winner upside".
https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/top100/roki-sasaki-808963
