Shohei Ohtani Can Still Shock Us With These Numbers
Before you start yelling at me, I know Shohei Ohtani is one of the best players on the planet. But this past week was different. The Dodgers lost leadoff superstar Mookie Betts for at least two months with a broken hand.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had a hole at the top of the order, so he moved Ohtani up one spot to leadoff for the Dodgers.
“It was by default,” Roberts said. “We had no one else. So, he’s a perfect default. He’s done it before. And honestly, he’s swinging the bat well there, and he was starting to swing the bat better before that. So, he’s just doing what he needs to do as far as controlling the zone.”
Ohtani has more than 250 career at-bats leading off, and he's been more than serviceable.
AB | HR | RBI | BA | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
258 | 18 | 45 | .283 | .955 |
Those are good numbers, but this past week was incredible, even for Shohei Ohtani.
Shohei Is At The Top
The first half of the batting order for Los Angeles has been the same all year: 1. Mookie Betts, 2. Shohei Ohtani, 3. Freddie Freeman 4. Will Smith, 5. Teoscar Hernandez. But Ohtani made an immediate impact after moving up.
He hit six home runs, raised his batting average by nearly 20 points, and was on-base 18 times in six games.
AB | HR | RBI | BA | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
27 | 6 | 13 | .481 | 1.848 |
A few other numbers that stand out are just how far his home runs have traveled. A total of more than 2,200 feet, that's nearly a half mile of homers. His average home run traveled 451 feet, and he had 13 hits and 13 RBI.
As of June 23, he led baseball with a .321 batting average and ranked in the top three in major league baseball in hits, runs, home runs, batting average, and OPS.
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Dodgers Injuries Piling Up
Los Angeles lost not only Mookie Betts but also Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The Dodgers say he suffered a strained rotator cuff that is not season-ending. He had tricep tightness after his start at Yankee Stadium on June 7.
In that game, he threw a season-high 106 pitches and consistently hit 97 and 98 with his four-seam fastball. Roberts says there is no timetable for his return but said he will not throw for the next few weeks. An MRI did not show any tears in his shoulder.
“I just think that it's a guy that we're still trying to learn a lot about and appreciate the fact that the most important time of the season is yet to come,” said Roberts. “And his health is paramount. So for us to be proactive and put him on the IL, kind of reset him seems like the smartest move.”
The Dodgers have 13 players on the injured list on June 23. 11 are pitchers, including six starters.
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