Los Angeles Angels: Can Shohei Ohtani repeat greatness?

Japanese two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani showed he was better than any other player in the American League last season. As a result, the Los Angeles Angels phenom won the American League’s Most Valuable Player.

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) gave Ohtani the unanimity of votes over his competitors on the ballot, leaving Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Marcus Semien in second and third place.

As a batter last season, Shohei Ohtani slashed .257/.372/.592 with 46 homers, 26 doubles, eight triples, 100 RBI, 103 runs, and 26 stolen bases in 155 games. He struck out 189 times and walked 96 times.

He went 9-2 in 23 starts on the mound as a pitcher with a 3.18 ERA and 156 strikeouts in 130.1 innings. He also hit 10 batters and allowed 98 hits and 15 homers in 2,027 pitches.

Last season, his execution in the field led him to earn more than a dozen awards based on such a campaign. Also, he appears on both covers for MLB The Show 22.

Shohei Ohtani stated that the season’s overall performance for the Los Angeles Angels was due to his health.

Health is the biggest concern with Ohtani, but Ohtani said he already feels stronger this season. He showed glimpses of what he could do in 2018 when he won the AL Rookie of the Year Award. Then, however, he sustained a torn UCL in his right throwing elbow, needing Tommy John surgery.

As a rookie in 2018, Ohtani batted .285/.361/.564 with 22 homers, 21 doubles, two triples, 61 RBIs, 59 runs, and 10 stolen bases in 104 games. He struck out 102 times and walked 37 times. On the pitching side, he made 10 starts and went 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 51.1 innings. He also hit one batter and allowed 38 hits and six homers in 853 pitches.

In his second year, 2019, he hit .286/.343/.505 with 18 homers, 20 doubles, five triples, 62 RBI, 51 runs, and 12 stolen bases in 106 games. Ohtani struck out 110 times and walked 33 times. In this season, he did not throw a pitch. His batting numbers did not improve, primarily from the designated hitter (DH) spot.

His career on-base plus slugging (OPS) is .890 in 1,400 plate appearances.

However, Ohtani did not pitch in 2019 due to that torn elbow ligament. Instead, he continued to play with a left knee injury that also needed surgery late in that campaign.

As a result, he had a terrible year in 2020, batting .190/.291/.366 with seven homers, six doubles, 24 RBI, 23 runs, and seven stolen bases in 44 games. He struck out 50 times and walked 22 times.

On the mound, he went two starts with a 0-1 with a horrible 37.80 ERA and three strikeouts in 1.1 innings. He also allowed three hits and seven earned runs in 80 pitches thrown.

The 2021 season was either an anomaly or a significant improvement for Ohtani. He played the most in his career, with 155 games and almost pitched 200 innings.

The question is, can he do it again?

So far, his batting stats are similar to Fernando Tatis Jr., David Bote, Chad Pinder, and Brian Anderson. Unfortunately, none of them are on pace to become Hall of Famers (except maybe Tatis Jr. if he stays healthy).

His pitching velocity and movement are like Dinelson Lamet, Drew Rasmussen, Yu Darvish, and Antonio Senzatela. Overall, stats are similar in pitching to Zac Gallen, Hector Neris, Kevin Gausman, Brandon Woodruff, and Ryan Tepera.

He did win MVP due to his versatile approach in the plate and the bump. However, Ohtani cannot compete in batting. He is the second-place player of that race.

Only 22 years old, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a phenomenal 2021 season. He batted .311/.401/.601 with 48 homers, 29 doubles, one triple, 111 RBI, 123 runs, and four stolen bases in 161 games. Yet he did strike out 110 times, walk 86 times, and had an OPS of 1.002.

Shohei Ohtani will probably need to start preparing to take on only one of the two roles he is currently performing. It will probably not be pitching.

Ohtani relies on five pitches: 4-seam fastball, slider, split finger, cutter, and curveball. So far, he has been dependent on his fastball. He throws his 4-seam fastball about 44.2% of the time with an average velocity of 95.6 mph. His exit velocity was 88.4 mph in 2021, ranking him 399 among other pitchers — probably why he did not get a single vote in the Cy Young race.

Another critical factor, he plays for the Angels. This franchise has wasted 10 years of Mike Trout. It seems that will do the same with Ohtani. The good news is that his time with the Angels may be over after the 2023 season. With the universal DH coming in in 2022, all teams are possibilities.

Again, the question is, can Ohtani have another MVP season? Who knows. Ohtani can be a generational talent, but he can’t keep up in the league as a two-way player by the numbers. He will need to decide his role before he is a free agent. To avoid injuries and extend his career, it’s in his best interest to pick one path and focus on it.