Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Los Angeles Dodgers star is off to a historic start, combining elite offensive and pitching performances in a way no player has ever achieved.
- Ohtani is currently leading the National League in key pitching categories while maintaining MVP-caliber numbers at the plate, a feat previously thought impossible.
- If he continues this pace, he could become the first player in MLB history to contend seriously for both the MVP and Cy Young awards in the same season.
MLB fans know how insane a talent Shohei Ohtani is. Never have we seen a player hit and pitch at an elite level at the same time. While we've seen Ohtani win MVPs for his work at the plate and pitch at an All-Star level, have we seen him put up Cy Young-caliber numbers while also performing at an MVP level offensively?
Not really. I mean, we've seen it in specific games from Ohtani - his NLCS masterpiece from last season was legendary - but that could change this season. Ohtani is pacing for his best season yet, and arguably the best one in MLB history. Let's dive in.
Shohei Ohtani is doing everything at an elite level
Shohei Ohtani began the year going just 3-for-18 in his first six games without an extra-base hit, yet despite playing only 12 games since, his season OPS sits at .910. He's slashed .289/.393/.644 since his slow start, with five home runs and 10 RBI. It's easy to overlook this since seemingly everyone on the Los Angeles Dodgers has been great, but Ohtani sure looks like his MVP-self offensively.
His ability to hit and pitch is what makes him special, though, and as good as his hitting has been, his pitching has been even better. Ohtani has allowed a total of two runs (one earned) in 18 innings of work across three starts. He's hit triple digits with his fastball while generating a near or above 40 percent whiff rate with his sweeper, curveball and splitter. He has been as close to un-hittable as anyone.
He's gone six innings in each of his starts, allowing four hits or fewer in all of them. If the season ended today, he'd absolutely be in the hunt for the NL Cy Young award.
Shohei Ohtani’s first 3 starts of 2026:
— AT (@BaseballWRLD_) April 16, 2026
18.0 IP
7 H
1 ER
6 BB
18 K’s
0.50 ERA
.113 BAA
0.72 WHIP pic.twitter.com/8FY5h9dMui
We've seen Ohtani hit at an elite level before, and we've seen Ohtani pitch at an elite level before. We've even seen him do both in the same season before. We've never seen Ohtani (or anyone else) hit at an MVP level and pitch at a Cy Young level before at the same time, though, and that's what he's pacing for.
What makes the start to Shohei Ohtani's 2026 season different
Ohtani's best season hitting and pitching full-time, came in 2022 when he was with the Los Angeles Angels. He unironically finished as the AL MVP runner-up to Aaron Judge that year, but had an all-time season. He slashed .273/.356/.519 with 34 home runs and 95 RBI at the plate, and had a 2.33 ERA in 28 starts and 166 innings on the mound. He finished fourth in the AL Cy Young balloting.
These are obviously tremendous numbers for mere mortals, but we've seen Ohtani be even better. I mean, he's hit at least 10 more home runs than the 34 he launched in each of the three seasons since that 2022 campaign. He hit 54 of them in 2024 and 55 more in 2025. He's won three straight MVP awards despite just making 37 starts combined. This is because of how elite he's been at the plate.
This season, though, Ohtani leads all National League qualifiers in ERA and WHIP. If the season ended today, he'd legitimately have a shot at being the Cy Young winner, and that isn't even bringing up his hitting.
Ohtani is a much scarier hitter now than he was in 2022, and he might be an even better pitcher, too. If he can win the MVP award as a hitter and the Cy Young award as a pitcher in the same season, when have we ever seen something like that before? Ohtani wasn't quite an MVP-caliber hitter or Cy Young pitcher in 2022. When he's won MVPs, it's been because of his bat.
It's hard to compare MLB to other sports, but we've never seen someone do what Ohtani is doing in any sport. We've never seen a player thrive on both sides of the ball in the NFL. Travis Hunter's attempt to do that ended after just one year. We've never seen a goalie score goals at an elite clip in the NHL. Again, this just isn't a thing we see in sports. It's hard enough to be great in one area.
It'll be tough for Ohtani to sustain this start - it's quite literally never been done before - but if anyone can do it, it's him. At this point, we can't rule it out based on everything else he's done.
More MLB news and analysis:
Add us as a preferred source on Google