Roki Sasaki, future Shohei Ohtani, debuted in Japanese professional baseball league.
He pitched 104 times and was loosing by 5 points at the end of the fifth inning.
I think this result was not bad for the rookie player.
He had a good fast ball and outside control. These skills are very valuable.
He was very famous for his fast ball, over than 100mile/h when he was a high school student.
When he was drafted after high school, 4 teams designated him as a 1st pick.
(The draft system of Japanese professional baseball is a lottery where multiple teams designate the same players.)
This is the proof of his potential.
I think his team, Chiba Lotte Marines is a good team for developing skills in MLB style because the Marines have good coaches.
The head coach, Tadahito Iguchi played in the MLB (Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres) for four seasons.
Also the pitching coach, Masato Yoshii played in the MLB (New York Mets, Colorado Rockies and Montreal Expos) for five seasons.
So they know well the MLB style.
Both players also succeeded in the MLB.
For Sasaki, this pitching coach is the great YODA in Star Wars.
I think Mr.Yoshii will help Sasaki succeed not only in Japan and also in the MLB.
Finally, there is another common point in Darvish, Ohtani and Sasaki.
It is a region of their high schools.
They played in the Tohoku region of Japan when they were high school students.
Yusei Kikuchi (Seattle Mariners) also played there.
These players are all starting pitchers.
If your team doesn't have enough starting pitchers, there might be an answer in high school in the Tohoku region of Japan.
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