
Shohei Ohtani, DH/RHP
He may have been scratched from his Tuesday start due to an ankle sprain, but a chance to watch everyone’s favorite two-way phenom at the plate should still be thrilling enough. Forty-seven plate appearances into his MLB career, Shohei Ohtani is much more than a gimmick — he’s a legitimate power threat.
With a .341/.383/.682 slash line and 4 home runs, the 23-year-old has already made good on his tantalizing potential. Aside from Mike Trout and Andrelton Simmons, the Angels don’t have a single qualified player with a league-average OPS+, making Ohtani’s contributions as a DH all the more valuable.
Check out this big fly from last week, off of Luis Severino no less:
Looking ahead to this week, it would be awfully nice if the Orioles had a lefty in their rotation. Twelve games into his career, Ohtani is already sporting a serious split: .406/.441/.875 against righties, but just .167/.231/.167 against southpaws. Buck Showalter may have to look to Richard Bleier to provide shutdown work in the later innings — as if that hasn’t been happening already.
No matter how you feel about his future as a player, Orioles fans should get excited to watch Ohtani swing the bat this week. Even going beyond the novelty aspect, he’s one of the best hitters in Los Angeles.