This Dodgers rotation depth piece might have a chance of stealing Roki Sasaki's spot

Roki Sasaki's second spring training start was a disaster ... and then it wasn't. He failed to record an out in the first inning and gave up a leadoff walk, a single, another walk, and then a grand slam, and then another walk before being pulled.

He came back in for the second and third, taking six hitters down in order, but the first was so disquieting that Dodgers fans weren't left with much more faith in him than they might have had coming in.

The plan, for now, is that Sasaki starts the season in the rotation. He can hide behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, and even Emmet Sheehan while he works out some kinks every five days (or maybe even every seven, depending on how the Dodgers decide to handle his workload).

But Dave Roberts also had praise for River Ryan, who pitched two solid innings behind Sasaki on Tuesday. "I thought he looked like a major-league pitcher today and not just a guy with a lot of stuff," Roberts said.

With Gavin Stone likely out to start the season, Ryan is the frontrunner to nab a spot in a potential six-man rotation ... or maybe bump Sasaki out of the five-man.

River Ryan emerging as a real rotation candidate after Gavin Stone's injury, Roki Sasaki's struggles

The only blemish on Ryan's line from Tuesday was a leadoff walk, but he notched three strikeouts between his two innings. Probable Future Hall of Famer Jose Ramírez swung at a beautiful back-foot slider for Ryan's second K of the afternoon.

Ryan has been called the best pitching prospect outside of the top 100. Keith Law of the Athletic went as far as to say he could be the best pitching prospect overall if he stays healthy. There have been comps to Gerrit Cole. Andrew Friedman singled out Ryan and Stone as the two injury returns he's most anticipating.

So Ryan is already in a good position, but Sasaki's accelerated fall from grace could make Ryan an even more attractive option by the time Opening Day finally rolls around.

We're about halfway through spring training. There's time for Sasaki to get better, and there's time for Ryan to stumble a few times. But fans definitely aren't as sold on Sasaki's readiness as the Dodgers seem to be, and Ryan pushing Sasaki out of the rotation could be a very fun shakeup for a 2026 season when almost everything is already set in stone.