{"id":584605,"date":"2026-02-21T10:12:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T10:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/584605\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T10:12:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T10:12:25","slug":"dodgers-superstar-shohei-ohtani-is-predicted-to-lead-mlb-in-these-key-stats-in-2026-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/584605\/","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers\u2019 superstar Shohei Ohtani is predicted to lead MLB in these key stats in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>According to the latest Depth Charts projections from FanGraphs,<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/los-angeles-dodgers\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Los Angeles Dodgers;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"> Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a> superstar <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/tag\/shohei-ohtani\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Shohei Ohtani;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Shohei Ohtani<\/a> is forecasted to lead all of Major League Baseball in 2026 with 48 home runs, 119 RBIs, 129 runs scored and a thunderous .599 slugging percentage.<\/p>\n<p>His projected .983 OPS trails only one hitter in the model. In other words, the machines and algorithms are <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/article\/shohei-ohtani-had-best-performance-125511916.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:predicting dominance;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">predicting dominance<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Again.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"&lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/nypost.com\/los-angeles-dodgers\/&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow noopener&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; data-ylk=&quot;slk:Los Angeles Dodgers;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas&quot; class=&quot;link &quot;&gt;Los Angeles Dodgers&lt;\/a&gt; superstar &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/nypost.com\/tag\/shohei-ohtani\/&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow noopener&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; data-ylk=&quot;slk:Shohei Ohtani;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas&quot; class=&quot;link &quot;&gt;Shohei Ohtani&lt;\/a&gt; is forecasted to lead all of Major League Baseball in 2026 with 48 home runs. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"679\" height=\"1023\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/faaf9da0ed1d13153a6e44255d6af07e.jpeg\"\/>Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n<p>California Post News: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheCaliforniaPost\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Facebook;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/californiapost\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Instagram;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Instagram<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@CaliforniaPost\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:TikTok;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">TikTok<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/californiapost\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:X;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">X<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@thecaliforniapost\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:YouTube;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">YouTube<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029Vb6a2IV1NCrL6q2AWq0E\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:WhatsApp;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">WhatsApp<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/linkedin.com\/company\/californiapost\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:LinkedIn;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">LinkedIn<\/a><br \/>California Post Sports <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/capostsports\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Facebook;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/capostsports\/?hl=en\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Instagram;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Instagram<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@capostsports\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:TikTok;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">TikTok<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@CaliforniaPostSports\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:YouTube;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">YouTube<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/capostsports\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:X;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">X<\/a><br \/>California Post <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/californiapost\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Opinion;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Opinion<\/a> <br \/>California Post Newsletters: <a href=\"https:\/\/email.nypost.com\/#california-post\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Sign up here!;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Sign up here!<\/a><br \/>California Post App: <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/california-post\/id6751343487\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Download here!;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Download here!<\/a><br \/>Home delivery: <a href=\"https:\/\/subscribe.californiapost.com\/defaultCAP\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Sign up here!;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Sign up here!<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/california-post\/id6751343487\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Page Six Hollywood:;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Page Six Hollywood: <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/hollywood-signup\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Sign up here!;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Sign up here!<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Ohtani already finished among MLB\u2019s elite offensive leaders last season, pacing the league in runs scored, and finishing second in slugging percentage behind only Aaron Judge. His 55 home runs were two more than Judge, but he finished third behind Cal Raleigh (60) and Kyle Schwarber (56).<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Dodgers manager Dave Roberts \u2014 who has guided Los Angeles to back-to-back World Series titles, and multiple pennants \u2014 doesn\u2019t mince words when discussing his generational talent. He has called Ohtani \u201cthe best player that\u2019s ever played this game.\u201d Hyperbole? Maybe. But the r\u00e9sum\u00e9 keeps stacking.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Ohtani already finished among MLB\u2019s elite offensive leaders last season. Jason Szenes for CA Post\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"643\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/e8b9f2f5ac331556e2d4d6f3f0385d35.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Ohtani already finished among MLB\u2019s elite offensive leaders last season. Jason Szenes for CA Post<\/p>\n<p>The betting markets agree. Ohtani currently sits atop National League MVP odds at -125, and if his arm cooperates, Cy Young whispers won\u2019t be far behind. Imagine a season where 45-plus homers meets 180 strikeouts on the mound. That isn\u2019t <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/03\/09\/betting\/fantasy-baseball-key-trait-to-look-for-when-drafting-second-basemen\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:fantasy baseball;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">fantasy baseball<\/a>. That\u2019s the Ohtani proposition.<\/p>\n<p>In Los Angeles, expectations don\u2019t scare anyone. They fuel October dreams. And if the projections hold, 2026 won\u2019t just be another <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/dodgers-shohei-ohtani-already-accomplished-011857336.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:MVP chase;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MVP chase<\/a> \u2014 it could be baseball history unfolding in real time.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"According to the latest Depth Charts projections from FanGraphs, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is forecasted to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":584606,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[106,5,3297,75045,81,774,57,19,4,468,1750],"class_list":{"0":"post-584605","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-aaron-judge","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-cal-raleigh","11":"tag-california-post","12":"tag-kyle-schwarber","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-dodgers","15":"tag-major-league-baseball","16":"tag-mlb","17":"tag-shohei-ohtani","18":"tag-slugging-percentage"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116108090197391044","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=584605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/584606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=584605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=584605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=584605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}