RHP Lotte Marines
Seven days after becoming Japan's youngest perfect-game pitcher, setting an NPB record with 13-straight strikeouts and matching the record with 19 in a game, Sasaki pitched eight more perfect innings before getting the hook. His fastball, with an average speed last year of 98.4 mph, is the hardest in NPB. That velocity and an excellent splitter makes the fastball deadly, despite its tendency to flatten out. Sasaki's public impact has been likened to that of Daisuke Matsuzaka, who, in his day, was nicknamed "monster."