Sasaki has the chance to be perhaps the greatest pitcher ever to come from NPB (the highest level of baseball in Japan) and pitch for a Major League Baseball team. In four seasons with Chiba Lotte, Sasaki has compiled a 2.02 ERA, 11.4 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 rate while allowing just 6.0 hits per nine. He made a big splash on the international stage by striking out 11 over 7 2/3 innings in the 2023 World Baseball Classic on a Japan staff that included Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.