Roki Sasaki — 2026 Season

2026 Season Stats

Pitching stats and MLB-wide rank · 2026 Season

Stat	2026	MLB Rank
ERA	4.60	—
WHIP	1.33	—
W	5	—
L	5	—
K	117	—
IP	119.1	—
SV	0	—
GS	23	—

2026 Season Highlights

As of 9/1, Roki Sasaki is on the injured list and away from the active roster. This season he has worked as a starting pitcher for the Dodgers, with an even win-loss record and some unevenness in his outings. Even so, he has shown flashes of his strikeout ability along the way. Given his track record before joining the Dodgers, his recovery and eventual return to the rotation are worth watching.

In 2026, Roki Sasaki is pitching what amounts to his true "Dodgers Year 1." His 2025 MLB debut was cut short by a right shoulder injury after just 10 starts — not enough to form a reliable sample on his real ceiling. This season, with a full Opening Day rotation slot, every start adds to the picture of what the "Monster of the Reiwa Era" can do at the highest level. The stats box above is updated daily — follow along as the story unfolds. Sasaki is a right-handed power pitcher who threw a perfect game in NPB at age 20 in April 2022 — the youngest ever in Japanese professional baseball. A first-round pick by the Lotte Marines in 2019 from Ofunato High School in Iwate Prefecture, he dominated NPB for five seasons with a career ERA of 1.85 and a K/9 of 11.96 — one of the highest rates in modern Japanese baseball. His arsenal is built around a four-seam fastball (55% usage) that touches 165km/h (102.5mph) and a diving forkball (35% usage) that generates elite swing-and-miss rates at high velocity. Key metrics to watch in 2026: his walk rate (BB/9 improvement), durability (reaching the innings threshold), and maintaining his elite K/9. A healthy full season projects to a sub-3.00 ERA and 180+ strikeouts — numbers that would cement his status as one of baseball's elite starters.

1As a Dodgers starting pitcher this season, Sasaki has posted an even win-loss record with some inconsistency in his outings, and he is currently on the injured list, away from the active roster.
2In Japan he drew attention for the youngest perfect game in NPB history and for his standout velocity, and he contributed to Japan's championship run as a member of the 2023 WBC national team. He joined the Dodgers in 2025, becoming teammates with Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
3Having been used consistently as a starter, the key question going forward is when he can return to the active starting rotation.

DETAIL · ANALYSIS

Detailed Analysis

In-depth metrics aggregated from every at-bat and pitch.

Data as of: 2026-09-06

Expand detailed analysis ▾

Recent Form (Last 10 Starts)

Older games on the left, most recent on the right. Color shows how they played.

Best: 6IP+ / ≤1ER · Good: 5IP+ / ≤2ER · OK: 4IP+ / ≤3ER · 4ER · ≥5ER (blowup)

Pitch Arsenal

Current season pitch data by type. Velocity, spin rate, movement, whiff rate, and CSW% at a glance.

Pitch	Usage	Velo (mph)	Spin	H-Mvmt	V-Mvmt	Whiff%	CSW%
Four-Seam Fastball	42.0%	97.8	2,278	-6.0"	+9.6"	16.1%	24.9%
Splitter	33.5%	89.2	863	-4.3"	+0.8"	34.1%	26.1%
Slider	21.5%	86.7	1,961	+0.3"	-0.6"	38.8%	36.0%
Forkball	2.4%	86.9	1,062	-2.4"	-0.2"	25.0%	23.5%
Cutter	0.3%	87.2	—	—	—	—	16.7%
Sinker	0.3%	96.7	2,193	-7.4"	+8.5"	100.0%	50.0%

H-Mvmt/V-Mvmt (inch): movement vs. a spinless ball. + = toward 3B / up, − = toward 1B / down. Whiff% = whiffs / swings, CSW% = (called strikes + whiffs) / pitches.

Handedness & Home/Away Splits

Situational splits for the current season. See strengths and weaknesses by scenario.

vs Handedness

Split	OAVG	OOPS	HR	K	BB
vs RHB	.253	.848	11	48	17
vs LHB	.238	.746	11	69	31

Home / Away

Split	OAVG	OOPS	HR	K	BB
Home	.238	.801	13	60	24
Away	.249	.779	9	57	24

Year-over-Year Performance Trend

Career-long performance trends for every key stat. How does this year compare to history?

Season	G	IP	ERA	WHIP	K/9	BB/9	K
2025	10	36.1	4.46	1.43	6.94	5.45	28
2026Now	23	119.1	4.60	1.33	8.82	3.62	117

Full Game Log (Pitching)

All 23 games of the 2026 season. Showing latest 10; click to expand.

Date	Opp	IP	H	ER	BB	K	ER/9
08/27	@ ATL	3.1	6	4	2	3	10.80
08/20	@ COL	5.0	7	2	1	6	3.60
08/14	vs MIL	6.0	4	2	5	2	3.00
08/08	@ ARI	6.0	4	2	1	5	3.00
07/31	vs SEA	5.1	5	2	3	7	3.38
07/25	@ NYM	7.0	3	1	2	9	1.29
07/18	@ NYY	5.2	5	0	1	5	0.00
07/09	vs COL	6.0	4	3	1	5	4.50
07/03	vs SD	3.0	7	6	2	3	18.00
06/27	@ SD	4.0	3	3	5	2	6.75

SHOW REMAINING 13 GAMES ▾

Date	Opp	IP	H	ER	BB	K	ER/9
06/20	vs BAL	5.2	4	3	1	6	4.76
06/13	@ CWS	4.1	7	7	3	4	14.54
06/06	vs LAA	7.0	2	0	2	10	0.00
05/31	vs PHI	5.1	3	1	1	7	1.69
05/24	@ MIL	5.0	4	2	2	4	3.60
05/18	@ LAA	7.0	4	1	0	8	1.29
05/12	vs SF	5.0	6	3	1	5	5.40
05/03	@ STL	6.0	5	3	2	4	4.50
04/26	vs CHC	5.0	7	4	1	5	7.20
04/20	@ COL	4.2	7	3	2	2	5.79
04/13	vs TEX	4.0	5	2	5	6	4.50
04/06	@ WSH	5.0	5	6	3	5	10.80
03/31	vs CLE	4.0	4	1	2	4	2.25

Year-over-Year (2026 vs 2025)

Green = improvement, red = decline. "—" means no data in the same month last year.

Pitching

	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug
ERA	-3.54	+4.18	-4.82	—	—	—
K	-1	+3	+24	—	—	—
WHIP	-1.29	+0.77	-0.68	—	—	—

AI · SEASON ANALYSIS

Roki Sasaki 2026 Season AI Analysis

Comprehensive 2026 season analysis generated by Claude AI from stats data (as of Sep 7, 2026).

Overview

Sasaki's 2026 ERA of 4.60 sits below the MLB average of 3.60 and well outside the P75 mark of 3.04, placing him in below-average territory on run prevention. WHIP (1.33) trails the league average of 1.19 by a similar margin. Strikeout rate (8.82 K/9) is roughly at league average (8.73) and close to median (8.57), but still short of the P75 threshold of 9.96. Walk rate (3.62 BB/9) is the clearest weak point, running nearly a full walk higher than the 2.79 league average. Overall, a season defined by rising workload and inconsistent command rather than clear performance gains.

Strengths

The standout development is innings durability: 119.1 IP across 23 starts in 2026 versus just 36.1 IP over 10 starts in 2025, more than tripling his workload in a single year. Strikeout rate also jumped meaningfully, from 6.94 K/9 in 2025 to 8.82 K/9 in 2026, now sitting at league average and signaling the swing-and-miss stuff is translating more consistently at the MLB level. The combination of increased volume and improved strikeout ability suggests better in-game stamina and a more repeatable arsenal than his rookie-year sample indicated.

Areas to Improve

Command remains the primary drag on results. A 3.62 BB/9 is nearly 1.0 higher than the 2.79 MLB average, and this walk rate is the main driver behind both the elevated ERA (4.60) and WHIP (1.33). Both marks land below the P50 threshold in their respective categories (ERA 3.71, WHIP 1.18), meaning Sasaki currently profiles as a below-median MLB starter on run prevention. The gap between his K/9 gains and his still-below-average control suggests pitches are missing bats but not consistently finding the zone, which caps efficiency and limits deeper outings.

Looking Ahead

With innings and strikeout rate trending upward, the swing-and-miss foundation appears to be developing on schedule for a young starter. The determining factor for the rest of 2026 will be walk-rate reduction — even a modest pull toward the 2.79 league average would likely bring ERA and WHIP down closer to median marks, given the underlying strikeout ability is already competitive. Absent that improvement, results should hover near current levels: an arm with clear strikeout upside still searching for the control needed to convert that into average or better run prevention.

AI-generated content (Claude) · Based on stats as of Sep 7, 2026

Detailed Analysis

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Season Analysis

Season Progress

ERA

↓ Lower is better

WHIP

↓ Lower is better

Strikeouts

Wins

Monthly Stats

ERA

vs MLB Monthly Avg↓ Lower is better

WHIP

vs MLB Monthly Avg↓ Lower is better

Strikeouts

Wins

Season Analysis

Loading season chart…

Splits vs LHP / RHP

Season stats vs right-handed and left-handed batters

vs RHP/RHB

.253OPS .848 / HR 11

vs LHP/LHB

.238OPS .746 / HR 11

Metrics Deep Dive

MLB-wide percentile rank, defensive and pitching metric summaries, pitch-type stats, and batted-ball distribution.

Pitching — MLB-wide Standing

K/9 ranks in the top 46% of MLB. The rest sit closer to league average.

ERA4.60

WHIP1.33

strikeouts117

K/98.82

Bars show percentile rank among MLB-wide qualified players.

2026 Pitching Metrics Summary (FIP / WHIP / K/9)

FIP

4.87

MLB average ≈ 4.00 · lower is better

Not yet qualified — reference value

WHIP

1.33

MLB average ≈ 1.30 · lower is better

Not yet qualified — reference value

Strikeouts per 9 (K/9)

8.82

MLB average ≈ 8.5 · higher is better

Not yet qualified — reference value

Verify at the source:Baseball Savant FanGraphs

Source: MLB Stats API pitching stats (2026 season) · FIP calculated on-site (cFIP 3.10)

PITCHER · FIP

What is Roki Sasaki's FIP? 4.87 in 2026

FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) measures a pitcher's true skill using only home runs, walks, hit-by-pitches and strikeouts — outcomes the pitcher controls. By stripping out defense and luck, it tracks real ability more closely than ERA.

Roki Sasaki's 2026 FIP is 4.87, rated as "below average". That's 0.87 above the MLB average of about 4.00, leaving room to improve.

Compare with other Japanese pitchers in the FIP ranking

Pitch Type K% & BA Against

K% / BA-against / Whiff% by pitch type this season. K% is based on at-bats where each type was the strikeout pitch.

Pitch	Usage	K%	BAA	Whiff%
Four-Seam Fastball	42.0%	14.5%	.386	16.1%
Splitter	33.5%	29.4%	.250	34.1%
Slider	21.5%	29.0%	.311	38.8%
Forkball	2.4%	8.3%	.300	25.0%

K%: rate of strikeouts among plate appearances where this pitch type was the final pitch. Whiff%: whiffs per swing. Types with fewer than 10 pitches excluded.

Splits by Batter Handedness

BA / OPS against and WHIP vs right-handed and left-handed batters this season. Spot weaknesses by batter type.

Split	BAA	OPS	WHIP	K	IP
vs RHB	.253	.848	1.31	48	50.1
vs LHB	.238	.746	1.35	69	69.0

Game Log

2026 Season Appearance Log

23 starts · 117 total strikeouts

Season Best K

10K

Sat, Jun 6 vs LAA

Season Debut

Tue, Mar 31 vs CLE

4.0IP · 4K

Date	Opp	IP	K	HR	BB	Dec
8/27	@ATL	3.1	3	1	2	-
8/20	@COL	5.0	6	-	1	-
8/14	vsMIL	6.0	2	-	5	-
8/8	@ARI	6.0	5	1	1	-
7/31	vsSEA	5.1	7	-	3	W
7/25	@NYM	7.0	9	1	2	W
7/18	@NYY	5.2	5	-	1	-
7/9	vsCOL	6.0	5	2	1	-
7/3	vsSD	3.0	3	3	2	-
6/27	@SD	4.0	2	1	5	L
6/20	vsBAL	5.2	6	2	1	-
6/13	@CWS	4.1	4	1	3	L
6/6	vsLAA	7.0	10	-	2	-
5/31	vsPHI	5.1	7	1	1	-
5/24	@MIL	5.0	4	-	2	W
5/18	@LAA	7.0	8	-	0	W
5/12	vsSF	5.0	5	1	1	-
5/3	@STL	6.0	4	1	2	L
4/26	vsCHC	5.0	5	3	1	W
4/20	@COL	4.2	2	1	2	-
4/13	vsTEX	4.0	6	1	5	L
4/6	@WSH	5.0	5	2	3	-
3/31	vsCLE	4.0	4	-	2	L