Paul Skenes stormed onto the scene with a fastball that made scouts drool. But every king has a challenger. Enter Roki Sasaki, a 23-year-old from Japan whose splitter doesn’t just drop—it vanishes. If Skenes’ fastball is a missile, Sasaki’s splitter is a disappearing act, leaving hitters swinging at thin air.

Let’s cut straight to it—Sasaki’s splitter is a unicorn pitch. During the World Baseball Classic (WBC), it averaged a ridiculous 90.9 mph and touched 93 mph at times. That’s unheard of. As per Doug McKain of Dodgers Nation, to put it in perspective, only three MLB starters last season—José Soriano, Taj Bradley, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto—averaged 90 mph or more on their splitters. Sasaki is already in elite company, and he hasn’t even thrown a pitch in the majors yet.

Now, we know Paul Skenes has a high-90s heater and a “splinker” that drops off the table at 94 mph. But let’s be real—his splinker, while devastating, charts as a sinker because of its movement profile. Sasaki’s splitter, on the other hand, is a true dive-bombing pitch with ridiculous downward action. Just ask Alex Verdugo, who had a front-row seat to Sasaki’s magic trick during the WBC. Verdugo’s reaction after swinging through a 93 mph splitter? Pure disbelief.

Skenes and Sasaki are both generational talents, but their approaches couldn’t be more different. Skenes overpowers hitters with brute force, coming at them with a flamethrower mentality. Sasaki? He’s a surgeon. He can reach 102 mph with his fastball, but it’s the absurd contrast between his heater and splitter that makes him so lethal.

Hitters facing Skenes can gear up for triple-digit heat, even if the movement on his secondary pitches makes things uncomfortable. Against Sasaki, though, they’ll be completely lost—one pitch rises, and the next one disappears into the dirt at 93 mph. Good luck making that adjustment.

Paul Skenes might debut first, and he’ll undoubtedly be electric. But Sasaki, with his unique arsenal and WBC-proven ability to embarrass MLB hitters, could quickly steal the show. If his splitter translates seamlessly, he might make Skenes’ record-breaking hype look like a warm-up act.

One thing’s for sure—MLB hitters are about to have a rough time.

Roki Sasaki and Paul Skenes: A historic rookie race in the making?

The upcoming MLB season in 2025 might witness a competition for the Rookie of the Year award, with Paul Skenes and Roki Sasaki showcasing talent levels. Both players exhibit speed and strong secondary pitches in their arsenal. Skenes brings a fastball-slider duo that promises strikeout numbers right from the start. On the other hand, Sasaki boasts a triple-digit fastball along with a 90mph splitter that could potentially establish him as one of the hardest pitchers for batters facing him right from his debut game. Their battle for supremacy could become a must-watch all season long.

What makes this race even more fascinating is their contrasting backgrounds. Paul Skenes, the highly-touted No. 1 overall pick, represents the pinnacle of American college baseball development. On the contrary, Sasaki emerges as Japan’s next big talent by skipping the usual NPB posting process to face MLB batters immediately. Instead, his control and element of surprise may echo the prowess of global pitching stars such as Hideo Nomo, Masahiro Tanak, or Shohei Ohtani during his initial days on the mound, enhancing the excitement in the competition.

If both deliver on their immense potential, this Rookie of the Year race could rival some of the greatest in MLB history, setting the stage for a decade of dominance. Who do you think will have the bigger rookie season, Skenes or Sasaki?