Shohei Ohtani is arguably the best thing to happen to baseball in the last decade. An international superstar who can throw 100 MPH and hit homers halfway to San Francisco is taking the MLB by storm. Ohtani came to the Los Angeles Angels by way of Japan, where he played professional baseball for five seasons with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. Ohtani was a three-time all-star in the Nippon Professional Baseball league, winning the MVP in 2016.
Pitch like an ace. Crush like a cleanup hitter.
Shohei Ohtani Carried the Freight and then some. pic.twitter.com/W1rt9MGoJR
— MLB (@MLB) April 10, 2018
Bargain and a Half
Due to international signing rules negotiated in the MLB’s latest CBA, the max a team can pay an international signee is a $2.3 million signing bonus. Ohtani is currently making the league-minimum of $545,000 a year, along with his $2.3 million signing bonus. The Angels control Ohtani’s rights for the next six seasons unless he is traded/the MLB’s CBA suddenly changes in the next negotiation period. The real winners of this deal are the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, who received a $20 million pay-day to allow Ohtani to play in the United States. Some estimates showed Ohtani could be worth as much as $200 million on the open market.
Angels Manager Mike Scioscia
The Next Big Thing
Moving on from bucks to bats, Ohtani has been dominant on the bump and at the dish in his first couple of series with the Angels. The kid from Oshu has pitched 13 innings so far, allowing only three earned runs, one home runs and four hits, while striking out 18. Ohtani is currently 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA and a league-leading 0.46 WHIP. He’s throwing 12.46 K/9, which ranks 8th in the MLB, with an opponent batting average of just .093. At the plate, Ohtani has been just as superior. He’s batting .389 with a .421 OBP and a 1.310 OPS. Ohtani has hit 3 home runs, which is tied for 5th in the MLB, and has driven in 7 runs. He’s also only struck out 4 times in 18 plate appearances.
Ohtani’s stuff is straight NASTY.#TipOfTheCap for an amazing performance. pic.twitter.com/t4iCaBjDvV
— MLB (@MLB) April 8, 2018
Stunning Stats
Ohtani is the first player to win 2 games and hit 3 home runs in the first 10 games of the MLB season since Jim Shaw in 1919. He also pitched 7 perfect innings before giving up a walk and a hit in just his second ever Major League start. Ohtani is one of 6 players in MLB history to hit 3 home runs in their first 4 games and also leads the league in exit velocity. His four-seam fastball, which has an average sped of 97.1 MPH, currently ranks third in the MLB.
Angels Manager Mike Scioscia
Next Appearance
While Ohtani bats more often than he pitches, the next time you can see Ohtani on the bump is Friday, April 13, when the Angels take on the Royals in Kansas City.
"We haven't seen anything like it."@markdero7 and John Smoltz dive into Shohei Ohtani's spectacular start to the 2018 season. #MLBCentral pic.twitter.com/wHgXKoVPbG
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) April 9, 2018