A brief guide to drafting Shohei Ohtani the right way
One of the more unique players to come along in fantasy baseball recently is Shohei Ohtani but where should he be drafted?
Whether you’re new to the fantasy baseball world or you’ve been playing since scores were kept from newspaper and box scores, Los Angeles Angels sensation Shohei Ohtani has been hard to ignore. The star from overseas signed with the Angels this past off-season with the intention of pitching and hitting at least a couple days a week, something that just doesn’t happen in the majors anymore.
While the excitement was off the charts when he signed, it’s become a bit more muted the past couple weeks. Spring training doesn’t always mean a lot but it’s the only frame of reference fo Ohtani in the majors. He hasn’t pitched three officials innings yet but has an ERA of 27.00 and a WHIP over 4.00. Things haven’t been better at the plate for him with just three hits in 28 at-bats. This has naturally led to the big question of where to draft Ohtani and how to value him.
The potential advantage in fantasy is obvious as you can use the player for both his pitching stats and hitting stats in any given week. However, there’s a couple of catches to go along with that advantage. First, if you play in a league where lineups are set weekly, Ohtani isn’t nearly as fun to deploy. If he’s hitting two or three days a week, he’s almost never going to be worth putting in a hitter’s slot. The at-bats just wouldn’t accumulate, regardless of how well he was hitting. A weekly league severely limits his appeal as he’s basically a pitcher only in that setting.
Secondly, if you play on the Yahoo platform, they sadly missed the boat and made Ohtani two separate players, one as a pitcher and one as a hitter. They are the only major site to go this route and it’s frankly a small disservice to fantasy enthusiasts. The whole point of Ohtani is you can use him as both; you shouldn’t have to draft two players to get both sets of stats. Either version is going to be tough to get any return on draft capital.
The pitcher version has an ADP(average draft position) of 85 on that site, which is pretty high. Other pitchers going right behind Ohtani are Masahiro Tanaka, Kyle Hendricks, Jake Arrieta, and Jose Berrios. All of those pitchers(among others) should be a safer bet for production than Ohtani. In addition, those pitchers will have some two start weeks. That’s a large boost if you play in a points format. Ohtani almost certainly will not as the Angels are planning on using a 6 man rotation.
Yahoo is a special case and Ohtani is being overdraft on that site, in large part because either version isn’t as valuable as being able to move him to different positions. The funny thing is his ADP is roughly the same across almost any other platform, hovering around 85-95. This is just too early to take this kind of gamble on a player that has no track record of success and who is struggling mightily in spring training. There is a reasonable chance that the Angels could send him to the minors to work out some kinks, although the team has said this isn’t happening right off the bat.
Ohtani could still have a wonderful regular season. He’s got legitimate talent as a pitcher and hitter and things could start clicking at any point. He’s still a huge gamble with a top 100 pick and his floor really isn’t being considered at that draft slot. He wouldn’t kill your fantasy team but if he’s your third starting pitcher and he flops this year, it’s going to hurt. Starting pitcher appears to be a little thin this season as far as reliable players. About the only format that Ohtani is worth a high pick is keeper/dynasty. He’s just 23 years old and has a very bright future. He just may not tap into it this season.
Next: All-Time 25-Man MLB Roster
Fantasy baseball is supposed to be fun and fans should take the players they want the most. However, it pays to be smart. Maybe you do miss the boat on Ohtani this year. It’s possible he could be a top 50 player in fantasy and presents a major advantage on a lot of sites. It’s also possible thing just don’t translate for him this season and you’ve wasted a top-100 pick. He’s being overdraft virtually everywhere and could wind up as one of the biggest busts in his ADP range.