Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels will not be a two-way player in Major League Baseball this season, at least not an effective one. That's according to eight scouts who talked to Yahoo Sports baseball columnist Jeff Passan.
"Certainly, the Angels don't intend to make any substantive proclamations after 20 plate appearances this spring," Passan wrote. "They signed Ohtani for $2.5 million, plus a $20 million posting fee, following a frenzied bidding process and want to kid-glove him as much as possible."
Here's the thing: it's not the 2-for-20 start with 7 strikeouts and 3 walks in Cactus League play as of Wednesday that's any concern to scouts as much as what they saw in those times at the plate that gives them pause so quickly.
The problem for Ohtani, 23, lies in faulty mechanics and a lack of exposure to good MLB curve balls. Not breaking pitches, but curve balls specifically. The weapon of choice in Japan is the split-fingered fastball -- which is essentially a change-up, but with much sharper movement.
"He's basically like a high school hitter because he's never seen a good curve ball," one scout told Passan. "He's seen fastballs and change-ups. And you're asking a high school hitter to jump to the major leagues?"
What makes the problem worse for Ohtani, according to the scouts, is that he has to cheat on inside fastballs. He has to get started early to turn on the pitch, which leaves him susceptible to curve balls, especially from left-handed pitchers.
When asked which side of his game was further along, Ohtani said, "About the same progress-wise. Hitting-wise, adjusting isn't going to be as big as pitching."
"It's good for him to get his feet wet," Angels hitting coach and former Arkansas Razorback Eric Hinske told Maria Guardado of MLB.com on Wednesday. "He's up there battling. He's trying to put a good swing on the ball. I'm just trying to get him to just shorten it up a bit, shorten his leg kick a little so he can get to stuff inside. Just start looking for stuff, so he can clear his lower half and get to the pitch."
The problem is the Angels just don't have time to wait, and he simply can't learn on the fly.
"You don't learn on the job in the major leagues," a scout said. "You can't."
A little trouble
Football season can't seem to get her soon enough for the Michigan Wolverines.
Except next season, they'll have a new director of performance.
Thanks to a Freedom of Information request from MLive.com, the website reported Wednesday that Fergus Connolly, 40, was arrested March 5 after crashing an SUV -- one that may have been a university vehicle. He refused a preliminary breath test, shouted profanities and then denied he was drunk.
The report also said Connolly grabbed a security guard's throat, bit a lab technician and told a police officer he'd "put him in a wheelchair."
Connolly was found shoeless and his feet were bloody, as well as having injuries to an arm and his stomach. According to the police report, officers said his speech was slurred, smelled of intoxicants and had no identification. Ann Arbor police officer Garrett Marshall told MLive.com that Connolly was unaware of where he'd come from.
While he is no longer empolyed by the university, Connolly has not been been formally charged in the incident. Police say they are waiting for labratory results, which could take several weeks.
Sports quiz
How many football national championships has the University of Michigan won?
Answer
11, eight of which are shared national championships.
Sports on 03/16/2018