It has flown under the radar, but Shinnosuke Ogasawara has looked like a completely different pitcher out of the bullpen. He has gone from a neat story as the Nats first ever Japanese signing to an effective weapon out of the bullpen. Here is how the soft-tossing lefty has adapted.
To be blunt, Shinnosuke Ogasawara did not look like a big leaguer as a starting pitcher. He looked out of his depth in Spring Training and got knocked around in his two MLB starts. Ogasawara had become a bit of a joke among
the fanbase. A representation of how far we have fallen as a team. After all, Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez were fired hours after his calamitous MLB debut.
However, Ogasawara is slowly winning over the fanbase with every zero he puts on the board. With his likable personality and unique pitching style, he could become a fan favorite if he keeps this up.
Since being moved to the bullpen, Ogasawara has become something of a lefty specialist. With the three out minimum, the true lefty specialist is dead. However, with lefty heavy parts of a lineup coming up, Ogasawara has become a dependable stopper. He has bested the likes of Juan Soto, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber in the last week.
Overall, lefties are hitting just .208 against him. As a reliever, opponents are hitting just .205 and he has a 3.18 ERA. He has done a good job filling the void that Andrew Chafin left behind when he was traded. If you need to get some tough lefties out in the 7th inning, Ogasawara is your guy.
That is exactly what he did last night. He came in against Lindor, Soto and Marte, and got a 1-2-3 inning. While two of the three are right handed, the big matchup was with Soto and Ogasawara won the matchup.
With a bit of a kitchen sink arsenal, we will see how successful he is long term. However, it is nice to see him find a role in the MLB. At the very least, he is a fairly tough at bat against lefties with his deep pitch mix and deception.
His slider has been very effective against left-handed hitters. In addition to his 90 MPH heater, he mixes in a nice changeup, a slow curve and an occasional sweeper. It is not overpowering but it has been getting the job done lately.
The problem with reading too much into small sample sizes is that they can lie to you. We saw that with Konnor Pilkington who looked electric in his first few appearances, but the pixie dust wore off. Now he is really struggling to get outs.
Could that happen with Ogasawara, absolutely. However, it is time to give some credit where it is due. He has gone from a bit of a joke to a quality piece of the bullpen. Going to a new country where you don’t speak the language is hard. It is even harder when you have to face the best hitters in the world.
There was clearly a learning curve for Ogasawara. However, he has fought back and found his feet. I like the way he has responded to adversity. It tells you a lot about his character and the kind of person he is. We will be rooting for Shinnosuke Ogasawara.
