They saw it coming.
For more than a year, Shohei Ohtani’s return to the mound, to two-way player status, was a topic of near-constant conversation and speculation. But it’s still impressive to see it up close.
“He’s almost the best hitter in the game and he’s almost the best pitcher in the game. It’s just amazing,” Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, one of his teammates in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, said of watching Ohtani in full this season.
“It’s like he’s in his own league. We all did that in Little League, but he’s doing it in the big leagues. It’s special.”
The Dodgers have eased Ohtani back into two-way play. He pitched a third inning for the first time in his fifth and most recent start on Saturday in San Francisco. The 36 pitches he threw that afternoon are the most they have asked him to throw in any of his weekly starts.
“Obviously early on we were planning him not to pitch with us until more of a higher buildup, as far as four or five innings,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But his anxiousness to get back on a big-league mound kind of prompted that. And then from that point on, it’s been pretty deliberate. That’s how it played out.
“I think it’s also been helpful for Shohei to kind of dip his toe in the water, as far as logging some innings going into the (All-Star) break, having somewhat of a foundation going out through the second half.”
Ohtani might have forced the issue, essentially convincing the Dodgers he could continue his rehab on the mound in major-league games rather than facing minor-league hitters in simulated games. But he was in agreement with the slow pace of his return to pitching.
“In a rehab progression, it’s really important to just take one step at a time,” Ohtani said through his interpreter recently. “There are times when I may be able to go another inning, but it’s really important not to take unnecessary risks and make sure that I can progress consistently. It’s always been this way in terms of my rehab progression. So I’m following what the team is also asking me as well.”
Nonetheless, he announced his return to pitching with authority, throwing a 101.7 mph fastball in the first inning of his third start. It was the fastest pitch of his MLB career. Possibly aided by knowing his outings are going to be short, Ohtani’s 63 four-seam fastballs have averaged a career-high 98.2 mph.
But it has been more than that. So far, batters have hit .111 off his sweeper and .167 off his slider. According to Statcast bat tracking, none of his 140 pitches so far this season have been hit on the barrel of the bat.
“We all knew that he threw hard,” Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw said. “But he’s got really good stuff. He’s got multiple pitches. He’s got six pitches, seven pitches – I don’t even know how many he’s got. His command – for not pitching for two years – is really good. He doesn’t have too many misses.
“I guess we shouldn’t be surprised because it’s Shohei. But it’s been impressive – really impressive.”
Ohtani, who will bat leadoff for the National League but will not pitch in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, gave up a run on two hits in his first inning against the San Diego Padres on June 16 – his first game action as a pitcher since August 2023. Since then, he has pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing just three singles, walking two and striking out 10.
“It’s awesome,” Dodgers relief pitcher Alex Vesia said. “I’m going to use that word because it is so cool for him to pitch and literally walk off the mound, get checked (for sticky stuff by an umpire), get his helmet on and – first up. To me that is so cool.
“It is crazy. I’ve been more and more surprised by the velocity and the command and stuff. We didn’t know what it was going to be like. We had no idea. But if you talk to him, I bet he knew exactly what it was going to look like. That’s confidence. That’s preparation. That’s there. And that’s why he is who he is.”
The three-time league MVP remains an elite hitter and tone-setter at the top of the lineup. He leads the NL with 32 home runs to go with 12 doubles, seven triples, 62 walks, 60 RBIs and 91 runs scored while slashing .276/.382/.605.
Now, he is again showing off his other impressive skill – juggling.
He spent last season balancing his preparations as a hitter with the requirements of his rehab from the September 2023 elbow surgery. He handled that well enough to put up baseball’s first 50/50 season. This year, the need to balance his work as a hitter with his preparations to start on the mound once a week, game planning and studying scouting reports for each, has been a new challenge – but one familiar to Ohtani.
“He does it really, really well,” Kershaw said. “Nothing seems to overwhelm him. He just kind of knows what he has to do and he does it. There’s not many people that could do that. There’s only one of them.”
Vesia has observed the juggling act with interest.
“His schedule has changed a little bit where he has to incorporate the pitching side of things,” he said. “It’s different because it’s not a normal throwing program like myself. It is different the way he has to plan out his day to not only play catch, focus on pitching but then focus on hitting and go about that. So it’s been really interesting to watch him go about his business.
“It’s sticking to his routine day in, day out and knowing that it works for him. This isn’t something that just popped up yesterday. This is years, going back to when he was in Japan. This is a routine that he knows. Obviously if I were to jump in tomorrow and try that it would probably be pretty hard. To do that at this level – plus he’s come back and each start he’s gotten better and better.”
On the mound, Ohtani takes on another task, calling most of his own pitches (as he did with the Angels).
“That’s a hard thing to do too. I don’t think I could do that,” said Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young Award winner. “To have that kind of feel for what you want to do – it’s just impressive. I don’t know what else to say.”
Vesia took it a step further. He said he would be surprised if Ohtani didn’t want to call his own pitches “because he’s the most prepared person I’ve ever met.” Vesia thinks having the perspective of a hitter while pitching is an advantage for Ohtani, he said.
“I do,” Vesia said. “I don’t think like a hitter. I think like a pitcher. He’s got both. That’s definitely a very good insight for him. To see it from both lenses, that’s cool.”
And he seems to be enjoying it. Roberts said the Dodgers have learned this year that Ohtani has “more of an edge” to his personality when he’s pitching.
“I think he loves pitching. I think he loves it – I think he loves it almost more than hitting,” Freeman said. “The way you can control a game on the mound, it’s all about you. I think he loves it. I grew up pitching and I loved it. That was so much fun.
“There’s so much on you. I think he loves that. He’s almost the best hitter in the game and he’s almost the best pitcher in the game. It’s just amazing.”