"Strangely Perfect" Is the third-ranked team for the monster's destination? A renowned U.S. reporter said, "If the TOR comes, it will improve."
"Strangely Perfect" Is the third-ranked team for the monster's destination? A renowned U.S. reporter said, "If the TOR comes, it will improve."
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A prominent reporter from the U.S. Major League Baseball said the Toronto Blue Jays are suitable for the development of Loki Sasaki.토토사이트
Ken Rosenthal of the U.S. "The Athletic" appeared on the major league podcast "Foul Terry" on the 15th and mentioned that Toronto's pitching development would be "strangely perfect" for Sasaki.
Rosenthal added on his SNS, "Toronto has not done well in fostering minor league pitchers, but Sasaki will improve in the Major League. And at the Major League level, Toronto has succeeded in every pitcher, including starters and relievers."
The whole point is Toronto's pitcher development system. As Rosenthal said, Toronto's farm system hovers around the bottom of the Major League. It lacks the ability to raise pitchers as well as fielders.
However, he is good at readjusting players at the Major League level. The most notable example is left-hander Robbie Ray. Ray was just such a pitcher before joining the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020. Since joining the Major League in 2014, Ray had 47 wins and 46 losses with an ERA of 4.11 in 149 games through 2019. The strikeout rate per nine innings (K/9) was excellent at 11.1, but the walk rate per nine innings (BB/9) was 4.1.
After joining Toronto, his life changed. In 2020, Ray was traded to Toronto, where he became a completely different pitcher with 13 wins, 7 losses and a 2.84 ERA in 2021. He ranked first in the American League in ERA, strikeouts (248) and innings (193 ⅓ innings), and won his first career Cy Young Award. BB/9 was also drastically lowered to 2.4.
Yusei Kikuchi also played for the Toronto Blue Jays. After joining the Seattle Mariners in 2019, Kikuchi went 15-24 with a 4.97 ERA over three seasons. He has played for Toronto since 2022, and also posted 21-22 with a 4.48 ERA over three seasons. K/9 went up from 8.0 to 10.2, significantly boosting his pitching capability. He was traded to the Houston Astros during the 2024 season, and he showed an explosive rise with 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA.
Sasaki boasts ball power that can be easily recognized by Major League players. It boasts four-seam fastballs with speeds of up to 165 km/h, and can play folk balls that exceed 150 km/h.
However, he needs adjustments to play at the Major League level. "Compared to Tanaka and Yamamoto, Sasaki lacked control and ability to penetrate corners when he transferred to the Major League," Yoshinori Sato, famous as Masahiro Tanaka, said on "Full Count" in Japan. These days, Major League hitters are showing better performance. Even though Sasaki has fast balls up to 165 kilometers per hour, if he does not control the ball well, he cannot control it with the same momentum as he did in Japan.
To sum it up, it's as follows. Sasaki's pitching is excellent, but he certainly needs adjustment to make it work in the Major League. Toronto lacks a farm system, but it is excellent at fixing Major League-level pitchers. If Sasaki heads to Toronto, he could benefit from this.
The Athletic reported on Sunday that Sasaki met with Toronto officials. Sasaki has consistently said that he does not like "big clubs." According to local reports, the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and Toronto are in the final stages of the race. The Dodgers has a strong base, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. San Diego also has Yu Darvish and Yuki Matsui. Toronto is expected to be the lowest ranking candidate, but there are factors that will appeal to Sasaki in some areas.
Sasaki will likely make a decision soon. The Major League classifies players under the age of 25 as amateurs rather than professionals, and Sasaki, who was born in 2001, must sign an amateur player contract. The Major League has assigned teams the amount (bonus pool) that can be used for international amateur contracts. The bonus pool will be reset on Friday. Destinations will likely be revealed after Sunday.
Meanwhile, Sasaki recorded 30 wins and 15 losses with an earned run average of 2.02 in 69 games in the Japanese pro baseball league. On April 10, 2022, his third year in the league, he became the youngest Japanese pro baseball player to complete a perfect game with 19 strikeouts against the Orix Buffaloes. Since he has never met the regular innings, his durability is questionable.