One of many greatest questions for the Los Angeles Dodgers coming into this season is strictly how huge of a task Shohei Ohtani will play on the mound for the defending world champions.
Nevertheless, studies after Ohtani’s bullpen on Saturday put the reigning Nationwide League Most Useful Participant not solely on monitor to return to the rotation in 2025 but additionally be one more deadly weapon for the Dodgers.
On Saturday, Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts told reporters that Ohtani reached as excessive as 95 mph throughout his 25-pitch bullpen session. Whereas the speed uptick is a welcome signal for Ohtani’s return, Roberts added that the right-hander threw cutters as nicely, calling the addition of that pitch “a giant step.”
When Ohtani final pitched for the Los Angeles Angels through the 2023 season earlier than present process surgical procedure on his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), the cutter was Ohtani’s third-most thrown pitch, coming towards the batter 15.7 p.c of the time. Within the 329 cutters he threw in 2023 (per Baseball Savant), hitters fared nicely towards the pitch, hitting a mixed .310, the best batting common towards any of Ohtani’s pitches.
Whereas the pitch might not have been overly efficient earlier than the surgical procedure, Ohtani’s capacity so as to add it again into the combination speaks to the general well being of his arm and the development he’s making on his approach again to the mound.
Previous timelines have put Ohtani’s return to pitching someday in Might, with the Dodgers anticipated to proceed to make use of him because the staff’s designated hitter. That could be a place the place he excelled final season, changing into the primary MLB participant to hit greater than 50 dwelling runs and steal greater than 50 bases in a single marketing campaign.
Not solely is Ohtani’s return to the mound after his elbow surgical procedure one thing to observe, however his return to the plate after offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum is price watching as nicely. How will the Dodgers steadiness having Ohtani within the lineup on daily basis versus what is required to construct his pitch depend to the extent wanted to start out? Whereas some questions are being answered early this spring, others will take extra time to develop.
