MLB and Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani has made a worrying admission after turning in a laborious performance on the mound on Friday, with his pitching stats being called into question.
Two-way Ohtani joined the legendary Babe Ruth earlier this year as the only player ever to register 500+ career strikeouts as a pitcher and 100+ home runs as a hitter, solidifying himself as one of MLB's best players. However, his 2023 performances, especially when pitching, have dropped off compared to his 2022 stats.
He has a 4.88 ERA over his last eight starts, giving up 11 homers in those 48 innings. Ohtani also has an 11.1 percent walk rate, a significant jump from last season's 6.7 percent. There's also a possibility that Ohtani isn't offering a variety of pitches, with the Japan-born 28-year-old relying on the sweeper.
His splitter usage has decreased the more he has relied on the sweeper. Ohtani has used a splitter pitch just 7.3 percent of the time, a sharp drop from his 2021 reliance of 18.1 percent. His fastball usage has also dropped off a cliff, from 44 percent in 2021 to 27 percent in the last couple of years.
Ohtani has also seen his average velocity drop to 94.6mph, and he has made a worrying admission that fatigue could be behind his pitching woes. Following Friday's 5-4 win over the Seattle Mariners, Ohtani said via an interpreter: "There are times I feel a little more fatigued."
Ohtani has seen an increase in workload in 2023, pitching once every six days nearly every turn. Whereas in the last two seasons, Ohtani’s schedule was on a stricter six-man rotation, seeing him pitch just once a week. The Angels handed Ohtani an extra day off this week and will decide whether to continue that going forward to help their superstar recover.
Despite Ohtani's personal drop-off in pitching stats, he's still one of, if not the most effective pitcher for the Angels. And manager Phil Nevin's faith in Ohtani remains undeterred, insisting he has no concerns over the two-way superstar.
“I don’t,” he said. “I feel the same every time he takes the mound. We talked about it last time, maybe some pitch selection stuff. Because his stuff is there. You look at all the numbers. His velocity, his shapes on his pitches. Everything is there.”
Ohtani has also conceded that mechanical issues may be at play more than his pitching. “More than the command itself, I feel like it’s the way I’m moving my body,” Ohtani said. “I feel like I’m being less efficient moving my body.”
