“If he never hit again and concentrated on only pitching, he’s Jacob DeGrom in the American League" - MLB commentator dropped a hot take about two-way star Shohei Ohtani during Saturday Night Baseball
Shohei Ohtani is the most dynamic player the MLB has seen in years. He's both a star batter and an ace pitcher. He won the American League MVP trophy last season after hitting 46 home runs and posting a 9-2 pitching record with a 3.18 earned run average.
But even the league's greatest players have their slumps. Some last weeks and maybe even months. They always turn it around; they're too talented not to. But that doesn't take away from the frustration these players feel throughout the slumps.
Relative to his past performance, Shohei Ohtani is going through a slump right now. He's batting just .243 with a .450 slugging average and .776 on base plus slugging percentage this season. His 11 home runs and 32 runs batted show that he's still contributing more offensively than the average player. But Ohtani isn't the average player. He's the reigning MVP.
What's worse, Ohtani's pitching has been below average this season. He owns a 3.99 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over 47.1 innings so far. His barrel percentage sits in the league's 17th percentile. Batters own a higher expected batting average against him this season than ever before. Last year, it was .207. Now it's .243.
Shohei Ohtani, who didn't want to pitch in a big market, lasts just three-plus innings at Yankee Stadium.
"Shohei Ohtani, who didn't want to pitch in a big market, lasts just three-plus innings at Yankee Stadium." - @ Brendan Kuty
Despite all that, one MLB commentator thinks that Ohtani would be Jacob deGrom's American-League equivalent if he gave up hitting.
MLB commentator John Smoltz dropped a hot take about two-way star Shohei Ohtani during Saturday Night Baseball
During the Los Angeles Angels' 2-7 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, June 4, FOX Sports commentator John Smoltz was talking about Ohtani while he was up to bat. It was in the fifth inning and the Angels were down 1-5. Ohtani drew a one-out walk and Smoltz continued singing his praises.
"Let me just say this," Smoltz said. "And I think it's the strongest statement I could make about him. If he never hit again and concentrated on only pitching, he’s Jacob DeGrom in the American League."
John Smoltz on Shohei Ohtani:
“If he never hit again and concentrated on only pitching, he’s Jacob DeGrom of the American League." https://t.co/zq39SWkUxz
"... he’s Jacob DeGrom of the American League.'" - @FOX Sports: MLB
Smoltz continued by reinforcing his opinion:
"People might go, 'Ah, how could you say that?' Well Jacob deGrom's only pitching. Yeah, he hit while he was in the National League [and there was] no DH. Do you think he cared that much about hitting and preparing and taking [batting practice]? No... he proved that he was the best pitcher in the National League for a period of time when he's healthy. This guy [Ohtani] is raking, hitting homers, going to meetings, looking at video, constantly---everyday."
Ohtani's greatest advantage over deGrom is his health. While Ohtani is on track to play his second full season in a row, deGrom is struggling toward making his first pitching appearance this season.
That being said, no pitcher in the entire league comes close to deGrom's consistency while he's healthy. The 32-year-old owned a 1.08 ERA last season over 92 innings of work. When he played full seasons in 2019 and 2020, he struck out more batters than any other pitcher in the National League.
Ohtani's never owned an ERA below 3.00.