Pitchers beware: Ohtani has yet to take advantage of 'low-hanging fruit'

By Manny Randhawa | April 18, 2024

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Shohei Ohtani is the most talented baseball player on Earth. But even he can get better, a notion that would cause any pitcher to shudder.

"Shohei's an aggressive swinger -- which is good, which is fine," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on MLB Network Radio on Thursday. "And [with runners] in scoring position, pitchers obviously know that information."

The reason Roberts was discussing his new superstar in the context of men in scoring position was because Ohtani, who is hitting .360/.400/.640 with 10 doubles, a triple and four homers on the young season, is only 1-for-19 in that scenario.

Not that Roberts is overly concerned.

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"A lot of times, hitters and pitchers want it to be over -- that moment to be over," he said. "Pitchers will nibble, hitters will expand. And I think that in Shohei's particular instance, to be able to kind of endure the pain of [a long plate appearance] and don't be afraid to get into the at-bat to potentially get a mistake, which you can do some more things with."

Roberts added that he spoke with Ohtani about that, and that the two had "a great conversation." He also said that there's always more "low-hanging fruit, even for a player like Ohtani."

That's great news for the Dodgers. It's not so great for opposing pitchers.

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