Dodgers have legitimate reasons to be concerned about Roki Sasaki's stateside debut

We're two games into the Roki Sasaki experience, and there's legitimate concern among the Los Angeles Dodgers fanbase. And while Dave Roberts, the Dodgers coaches, and front office staff are all saying the right thing, the truth is that they're probably concerned as well.

Sasaki made his major league debut in his home country earlier this month during the Tokyo Series against the Chicago Cubs. Sasaki was shaky and lasted just three innings, but only allowed one run on one hit while striking out three. The rookie's stateside debut, however, went much worse.

Though the Dodgers were able to overcome Sasaki's atrocious outing over the weekend and win Saturday's contest against the Detroit Tigers by a final of 7-3, the right-hander's abbreviated appearance raised some eyebrows — and not in a good way.

The Dodgers should be concerned about Roki Sasaki's stateside debut

Sasaki was pulled after just 1 ⅔ innings having thrown 61 pitches. In total, he saw 12 batters, walked four, struck out two, and allowed two runs on three hits. This is not the type of performance the Dodgers were expecting from their biggest free agent splash and everyone's presumptive NL Rookie of the Year.

Sasaki is not getting these major league hitters to chase. Through his first two starts, his chase rate is among the worst in baseball. His 24.4% whiff rate and 19.2% strikeout rate are not what Dodgers fans were expecting after seeing him post insane numbers overseas.

Worst yet, however, is Sasaki's walk rate. The Japanese sensation is issuing free passes to 34.6% batters he faces. That is unsustainable, and something the Dodgers coaching staff is keenly aware of. If you can't throw strikes, you can't stay in the big leagues.

It's far too soon to claim that Sasaki needs a tuneup in the minor leagues, but one more performance like the one that fans saw on Saturday will get the conversation started. Sasaki may have been a dynamo in Japan, but he's now facing the best hitters in the world.

With the Dodgers' six-man starting rotation, fans shouldn't expect to see Sasaki back on the hill until this coming weekend when LA travels to play the Philadelphia Phillies. There'll be no shortage of big-time bats in the Phillies lineup, and the LA faithful are hopeful that Sasaki gets his act together before heading to the East Coast later this week. Another quick hook won't be pleasant for anybody.

More Los Angeles Dodgers News and Rumors