Completely smashed ‘5 year development plan’…”Perfect Monster” is not coming in 10 days again. The Japanese media “Still Body-building Process” is a direct hit

Japan’s “Daily Sports” reported Sasaki’s current status on the 20th (Korean time) through an article titled “The current state of the monster with Ray, shown in the final year of Chiba Lotte’s “Five-Year Development Plan” and the second departure.” 토토사이트 순위

Sasaki stood tall as the representative pitcher of Japanese professional baseball after Yoshinobu Yamamoto joined the Los Angeles Dodgers and Shota Imana joined the Chicago Cubs for four years and 53 million dollars through a 12-year contract worth $325 million (W450.6 billion). Of course, he has all the talent and skills to do so. Sasaki was drafted in the first round by the Chiba Lotte Marines in the 2019 rookie draft and has a fastball of up to 165 kilometers and a forkball of nearly 150 kilometers as his main weapon.

In the 2022 season, he surprised the world by achieving a “perfect game” against the Orix Buffaloes, and in the process of achieving it, he struck out 13 consecutive batters, setting a new unofficial world record. In addition, he was the first in the world baseball to achieve a perfect game in two consecutive games, blocking eight innings in a showdown with the Nippon-Ham Fighters. And in 2023, he pitched in a total of two games in the World Baseball Classic (WBC), and played with a 3.52 ERA, one win and no loss, greatly contributing to the Japanese national team’s victory.

Sasaki is an Asian player who Major League clubs are paying keen attention to, and has been drawing keen attention since he took the mound immediately after winning the perfect game. Sasaki also has strong aspiration to advance to the Major League. For this reason, Sasaki once had a conflict with Chiba Lotte over whether to advance to the Major League during salary negotiations last winter. Sasaki had signed the contract just before leaving the spring camp.

There is a clear reason why Chiba Lotte did not allow Sasaki to challenge. It is because he has never played a full-time season since joining the professional uniform. Although he played only 11 games as a manager for the first time in the primary league, he did not play full-time in the season due to finger blisters and physical deterioration issues. Last year, he also suffered a finger blister injury and a ruptured internal oblique muscle.

In particular, the inability of players under the age of 25 to enter the Major League through the general posting system also played a part. Players under the age of 25 are eligible for minor league contracts, but if they cross the Pacific Ocean through an “international amateur contract,” they will not receive a large amount of posting fees. This is similar to the time when Shohei Ohtani joined hands with the Los Angeles Angels for the first time. For these reasons, Chiba Lotte did not allow Sasaki to challenge. This led to Sasaki’s goal of “full time” this year, but the goal fell through even before reaching the halfway point.

After the game against the Softbank Hawks on May 24, Sasaki was removed from the first division due to fatigue in his upper body. He seemed to return after 10 days, but returned to the mound after 15 days. Then, at the match against the Toyo Carp in Hiroshima on the 8th, he pitched hard for one run (non-earning) and won his fifth game of the season. However, another problem occurred. With only three days to go on the mound after the game against Hiroshima, he will move back to the second division due to fatigue with his right upper extremity.

If it goes as scheduled, Sasaki will be able to return to the main league on Tuesday, but his return to the team is unlikely to be easy again this time. According to Japan’s Daily Sports, manager Masato Yoshii said, “I was away for two weeks last time, but it remains the same. I will be away for about two weeks again. Of course, I will not be able to throw, but if I do, I will not see Sasaki’s performance improve.” He completely drew a line on the possibility of his return to the game against Softbank on Sunday.

When Chiba Lotte recruited Sasaki, it set up a five-year promotion plan. In the first season of its debut, the company focused on building a body suitable for the professional stage without putting him on the mound. However, the company’s plan was completely twisted as it continued to leave the team due to injury from the third year. “It is the last year of the five-year promotion plan. The plan was to keep the starting rotation from the opening game to carry out the first innings, but it seems that the company is spending the first half of the year as if it is sailing in a tailwind,” said Dailies Sports.

“Daily Sports” said, “Sasaki reported to his trainer that his recovery was delayed after winning his fourth game against Softbank on May 24 with five hits and one run in seven innings. Sasaki thought he could throw, but Chiba Lotte did not overdo it and set a gap of two weeks. And he seemed to be recovering smoothly with three hits and one run in six innings by throwing 90 pitches against Hiroshima on the 8th, but he left again. Sasaki told pitching coach Ono Shingo that “the recovery is not as good as I thought,” and this time he decided to cancel the first team himself.”

Ono explained that Sasaki has a problem somewhere, or her body is not complete. “I need a solid body to keep throwing good balls, but I don’t think Sasaki has reached the full body yet,” Daily Sports said. “He is called a monster with Ray, but he is still in the process of building a strong body.” It seems that there will be many obstacles to his advance to the Major League in the coming winter.