Kodai Senga

March 8, 2026

Shows off velocity Saturday

Senga gave up two runs on three hits over 2.2 innings during Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals. He struck out two without walking a batter.

Analysis

The two runs came on solo shots, one by top prospect Joshua Baez, but Senga was consistently topping 97 mph with his fastball and hit 98.9 mph on a four-seamer to Alec Burleson. That's a huge improvement on 2025, when he averaged just 94.7 mph with the pitch. The 33-year-old right-hander credited some mechanical tweaks for the improved velocity, per Chuck King of MLB.com. "My body is different from where it was three years ago now, so I'm not really trying to get back to that," Senga said after Saturday's start. "It's a new me, and I'm trying to find new mechanics." If Senga's new-found life on his fastball holds into the regular season, he could return to the level of performance he showed in his first MLB season in 2023, when he posted a 2.98 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 202:77 K:BB in 166.1 innings.