When the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani this offseason, they knew he can be restricted to solely hitting coming off a second main elbow surgical procedure. And it was honest to query whether or not or not he would be capable of be 100% himself on the plate.
He has answered these questions by being top-of-the-line hitters in MLB and has put himself because the early frontrunner for Nationwide League MVP.
It was revealed not too long ago, nonetheless, that Ohtani has been enjoying via a hamstring contusion for the previous few weeks. It occurred on a pickoff try in opposition to the Cincinnati Reds on Might 16.
Ever since then, Ohtani’s offensive manufacturing has seen a dip. Within the 13 video games since that pickoff play, Ohtani is slashing .212/.268/.385.
Even with the damage, Ohtani is just not utilizing it as an excuse for his current struggles.
“Clearly, the leg isn’t that nice, however I don’t personally assume it’s affecting the swing,” Ohtani stated to reporters together with Invoice Plunkett of The Orange County Register. “I’ve been figuring out and ensuring that’s in an excellent place.”
Ohtani liked hitting curveballs early on within the season. In keeping with Baseball Savant, he noticed 26 curveballs in April and had a .571 batting common. In Might, solely hit .250 in opposition to 25 curves.
Ohtani’s chase proportion on curveballs has additionally jumped from 7.7% in April to 30.8% in Might.
“When his again was bothering him a bit bit,” supervisor Dave Roberts stated to True Blue LA. “You noticed some funkier swings, a bit extra chase. Together with his hamstring bothering him a bit bit, you see a bit extra of the identical factor. However I believe he’s getting near the place he must be bodily.”
Roberts additionally revealed that the group suggested Ohtani to not push the hamstring.
Regardless of the current efficiency, Ohtani’s general numbers are nonetheless excellent. He’s nonetheless slashing .326/.395/.604 and has the fourth-best batting common, slugging, and OPS in MLB.
