MLB analyst believes Shohei Ohtani is yet to unlock his full potential as a pitcher
MLB analyst Ron Darling believes Shohei Ohtani has barely scratched the surface of his full potential as a pitcher.
Shohei Ohtani is one of baseball's most sought-after players at the moment and is set to enter free agency at the end of next season. Such approval will not go unnoticed among the teams already lining up for his signature.
Speaking on MLB Network's MLB Tonight, Darling could not hide his approval of the pitcher's abilities.
He said:
"Not even close, that's how good he is. I mean he's coming off a year where he was what 15 and nine. ERA in the two's. Struck out at 11.9, almost 12 every innings. As good as you think any pitcher could ever do, there's so much room for him to grow."
Attributing Ohtani's success to his hard work and dedication, the analyst said:
"When he first came up, he had so much pressure on him. You were thinking that boy, he's gonna be a guy that was a lot of stuff and not substance...When you see Ohtani's short career so far, it's been a learning experience. He's very serious about his craft. And despite early in his career, maybe not being at his best... he kept working at it, he kept getting better and he kind of maneuvered his usage of what he does."
Shedding some light on the variations Ohtani possesses, Darling elaborated:
"Now this is a guy who throws 100 miles an hour, he's got a wipeout slider. This curveball here, he doesn't even use anymore. He's added a two-seamer but I think the key, watching him last year, is that his usage for his slider went way up, almost 80%."
He added:
"So, as he goes along, and gets more intelligent about how to get hitters out, maybe his strikeouts might come down a little bit, but his innings will go up, his pitch usage will get to a place where he will use his fastball as well as a slider, and he will go deeper in games."
MLB fans are surely seeing a Hall of Famer in the making.
Shohei Ohtani's 2022 stats
Shohei Ohtani looks destined to move on from the Los Angeles Angels, the team that brought him to the MLB in 2018.
His 2.33 ERA placed him sixth among all pitchers in the MLB last season. His FIP is slightly high with 2.40, however, his 1.01 WHIP placed him 12th on the list. As a batter, he scored 34 homers and 95 RBI last season.
It will be interesting to see where the two-way superstar ends up after next season.