Roki Sasaki's turnaround has been Dodgers biggest surprise in 2026

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Roki Sasaki's turnaround has been Dodgers biggest surprise in 2026 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are once again sitting atop the NL West, and the frontrunners for the 2026 World Series title. Shohei Ohtani is as good as ever, and there's a lot to like about this team right now.

Andy Pages' ascension into one of the best outfielders in baseball, while Kyle Tucker struggles, has been one of the biggest surprises of the 2026 season for the Dodgers. But, there's a different situation that stands out as a bigger surprise.

What Roki Sasaki has done this season, from his terrible start to the year to his turnaround in his recent outings, has, as MLB.com's Sonja Chen notes, been the biggest surprise for the Dodgers this season.

Roki Sasaki's unexpected turnaround is biggest surprise for Dodgers​

"While the Dodgers had hoped to see the version of Sasaki they have unlocked over the past month and a half - 3.86 ERA in his past seven starts - it came as somewhat of a surprise that he has gone from finding his footing to performing at the big league level so quickly," Chen writes.

Last season, Sasaki posted a 4.46 ERA in 10 outings and eight starts, which was a big disappointment considering the hype. But, as a reliever, he posted a 0.84 ERA in nine outings with three saves for the Dodgers during the World Series run.

However, the Dodgers needed him to become a starting pitcher, which he returned to this season. In his first five starts of the season, he went 22.2 innings, allowing 16 runs for a brutal 6.35 ERA.

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There were major questions about whether he could thrive at the MLB level as a starting pitcher. But, in his last seven outings, he has a 3.86 ERA, and not including his seven-run blowup outing on June 12, Sasaki had a 2.55 ERA in six starts from May 2 to June 5.

Sasaki went from being one of the more worrying pitchers in MLB to having a very promising turnaround. Doing this all in one season has been what makes him the biggest surprise for the Dodgers during the 2026 season.

This season has been a big one for Sasaki, as he has seen his turnaround into a legitimate MLB-caliber starting pitcher. Even though a 3.86 ERA in his last seven starts isn't anything special, it is still a huge result for the 24-year-old Dodgers pitcher.

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