Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred has announced that prized Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki has joined the 2025 international signing class. The class will open on January 15th and run until December 15th, providing all MLB teams with the opportunity to acquire players. This means that Sasaki will not sign before January 15th. Many teams have been targeting the highly coveted international free agent.
Rob Manfred said that he expects Roki Sasaki to sign with a club as part of the 2025 international signing class, meaning he can’t sign before January 15th. pic.twitter.com/wqOK3Ai5ix
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 20, 2024
Star Japanese Pitcher Roki Sasaki Joins International Signing Class
What Makes Sasaki Stand Out
The 23-year-old pitcher from the Chiba Lotte Marines has been highly discussed ahead of his entrance to MLB in 2025. The Los Angeles Dodgers have been the most talked about team in terms of attaining him, but several teams are on the hunt for Sasaki. The San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and New York Mets have also been strongly eyeing Sasaki. But what’s all the hype about this Japanese youngster? Well, for starters, Sasaki was electric in Japan for the Chiba Lotte Marines this past season.
Rōki Sasaki topped out at 103 MPH!
7 innings, 3 hits, 0 walks, 14 strikeouts, 1 earned run!
And he’s still just 21 years old. 😮pic.twitter.com/Zm8jwBHkLz— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) July 13, 2023
Across 111 innings pitched he sported an ERA of 2.35, 129 punchouts, 32 walks, and 10.5 K/9. The ace can dominantly reach triple-digit numbers with his fastball. Back in July of 2023, Sasaki hit his fastball at 103 mph accomplishing this at the age of 21. He also recorded 14 strikeouts that game while only surrendering one earned run. When it comes to Japanese baseball talent, there has been a continuous stream of versatile and clutch players coming from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Sasaki joins the many other aces who also got their start in NPB such as Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Yu Darvish, and Shota Imanaga.
Sasaki’s journey into baseball has been a heartfelt story. When he was just nine years old tragedy struck his country. His father, grandparents, and house were taken away by a tsunami that struck Japan on March 11th, 2011. But 12 years after that horrific event Rosaski made his debut in the World Baseball Classic for Japan. What else makes Sasaki so unique is his unconventional fastball and splitter combo. While his fastball has been classified as top-notch, his splitter has also been highly praised.
Photo Credit: © Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
