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Angels’ Shohei Ohtani has impressive debut at the dish

By Sean Sears

TENPE, ARIZONA, FEBRUARY 22: Shohei Ohtani of Los Angeles Angels poses for photographs during a training session on February 22, 2018 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Masterpress/Getty Images)
TENPE, ARIZONA, FEBRUARY 22: Shohei Ohtani of Los Angeles Angels poses for photographs during a training session on February 22, 2018 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Masterpress/Getty Images) /
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Shohei Ohtani, the Angels two-way Japanese superstar, took his first hacks as a hitter today against the Padres, collecting his MLB hit.

This past Saturday, Ohtani was making his first appearance in an Angels uniform as a pitcher. And on Monday, the Japanese two-way player found himself in the Angels lineup as a designated hitter.

The results, 1-1 with two walks while driving in a run for the 23-year-old Japanese import, who showed great patience at the plate today. After walking in his first two plate appearances, Ohtani was able to send a fastball back through the middle of the infield for a single.

Here’s his first plate appearance, where he came back from an 0-2 count to force a six-pitch walk.

And here’s the base hit from Ohtani, who was pulled right after for a pinch runner, likely to avoid any injuries on the base paths.

After watching all three plate appearances, the biggest takeaway I had was how impressed I was with Ohtani’s patience at the plate. Of course, he drew two walks today, but he didn’t chase pitches and showed the ability to take pitches early in the count. If the Angels do end up using Ohtani more as a hitter later in 2018, I don’t hate him batting 2nd in the lineup.

Now, it is only one game and he didn’t face anyone truly noteworthy on the mound, Jordan Lyles isn’t a pitcher many hitters fear. But he never changed his approach and showed an excellent understanding of the strike zone – which make sense since he is a pitcher first.

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I suggested the idea of the Angels considering Ohtani more at the DH spot, as opposed to trying to slide incumbent veteran Albert Pujol, who sloshed through last season as the Angels primary DH. The Angels will still be careful with Ohtani, as it’s clear his value lays with his abilities on the mound, especially after projected starter Tyler Skaggs struggled in today’s outing.

Ohtani, while small sample size, passes the eye-test thus far as a better-than-average hitter, which is nothing but great news for the Angels in 2018 and beyond.

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