How Could Roki Sasaki Adjust in Year 1?

From Rates & Barrels: A show about Baseball The Athletic

Eno, Trevor, and DVR discuss the Pirates' decision to fire manager Derek Shelton after a 12-26 start and wonder how making a change in that role will can make an impact. Plus, they dig into the slow start for Roki Sasaki and wonder if he can improve his fastball command and make a tweak to his pitch mix on the fly to get better results over the course of his rookie campaign, before drafting struggling starting pitchers and discussing a great piece about Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz from Alex Chamberlain of FanGraphs.

Rundown

1:10 The Pirates Fire Manager Derek Shelton

8:54 The Overall Struggles Under Bob Nutting's Ownership

15:44 Injury Follow-Ups: Hunter Greene, Dylan Cease, Corbin Burnes, Yordan Alvarez & William Contreras

18:30 Checking In on Roki Sasaki

24:24 Comps for Roki Sasaki's Fastball

32:49 What's the Role *If* the Dodgers' Rotation Gets Healthier?

36:40 A Four-Round Rebound Pitchers Draft

54:16 A Great Read About Andrés Muñoz'

Andrés Muñoz Is an Analytical Blind Spot' by Alex Chamberlain of FanGraphs: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/andres-munoz-is-an-analytical-blind-spot/

Follow Eno on Bluesky: @enosarris.bsky.social

Follow DVR on Bluesky: @dvr.bsky.social