The Los Angeles Dodgers may have found an unexpectedly simple solution to one of the biggest issues affecting rookie right-hander Roki Sasaki.
Instead of making a major mechanical overhaul, the club addressed a problem that can derail even the most talented pitchers: tipping pitches. According to pitching analyst Rob Friedman, better known as Pitching Ninja, the answer was as simple as putting a bigger glove on Sasaki’s hand.
According to @PitchingNinja, Dodgers pitching coaches believed Sasaki was tipping his pitches.
Instead of overhauling his mechanics, they simply gave him a bigger glove to better hide his grip from hitters and
The subtle equipment change has coincided with the best stretch of Sasaki’s young MLB career, raising questions about just how much of a difference it has made.
Dodgers Identified Pitch-Tipping Issue
GettyNEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 17: Roki Sasaki #11 of the Los Angeles Dodgers warms up before the game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on July 17, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Caleb Bowlin/Getty Images)
Pitch tipping occurs when a pitcher unintentionally reveals what pitch is coming before the baseball leaves his hand. It can happen through finger placement, glove position, wrist angle, or an exposed grip, giving hitters valuable information before they have to decide whether to swing.
The concern surfaced after Sasaki struggled against the San Diego Padres earlier this month.
Following that outing, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged that the coaching staff planned to investigate whether opposing hitters were picking up something in Sasaki’s delivery.
“They were on everything Roki threw,” Roberts said. “We’re going to do a little dive.”
The Dodgers eventually determined that hitters may have been seeing the baseball too early. Rather than asking Sasaki to overhaul his mechanics in the middle of the season, pitching coach Mark Prior and the organization opted for a much simpler adjustment by giving the rookie a noticeably larger glove designed to better conceal the baseball before release.
Friedman recently broke down the reasoning behind the move in a video on his YouTube channel.
Using Sasaki as an example, Friedman explained that a larger glove hides the baseball longer, making it more difficult for hitters and baserunners to identify finger placement or grip before the pitch is thrown. He also referenced Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, whose glove position once unintentionally tipped his slider throughout much of his career.
Sometimes, eliminating those tiny visual clues can make the difference between weak contact and a barreled baseball.
Results Have Followed the Change
GettyNEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 17: Roki Sasaki #11 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches during the sixth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on July 17, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Caleb Bowlin/Getty Images)
Whether the oversized glove deserves all the credit is impossible to prove, but Sasaki’s recent performances suggest the adjustment has at least coincided with a dramatic turnaround.
The 24-year-old opened the second half by overpowering the New York Yankees, throwing 21 pitches at 100 mph or harder, the most by a Dodgers pitcher in the Statcast era. He followed that with another outstanding performance against the New York Mets, allowing one run over seven innings while striking out nine.
Over his last three starts, Sasaki has looked every bit like the ace the Dodgers envisioned when they signed him from Japan. His splitter has regained its devastating late movement, his fastball has become more deceptive, and hitters appear far less comfortable in the batter’s box.
Even Sasaki has embraced the attention surrounding the glove.
When asked after his start against the Mets why it suddenly looked so much larger, he joked through his interpreter that it was probably because “my face kind of got smaller.”
The response drew laughs, but the underlying story is no joke.
Baseball is often a game of microscopic adjustments. A slight grip change, a different release point, or even a larger glove can alter how hitters perceive a pitch. For the Dodgers, one simple equipment tweak may have helped transform one of baseball’s most talented young arms back into the dominant pitcher they expected all along.
Dodgers’ Simple Equipment Adjustment May Have Helped Unlock Starter’s Dominant Stretch