{"id":592948,"date":"2026-02-25T23:03:05","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T23:03:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/592948\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T23:03:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T23:03:05","slug":"shohei-ohtanis-pitching-upgrade-has-a-hidden-cost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/592948\/","title":{"rendered":"Shohei Ohtani’s Pitching Upgrade Has a Hidden Cost"},"content":{"rendered":"

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani<\/a> has found a way to get even better on the mound, though it might come at a cost.<\/p>\n

As detailed by Dylan Hernandez and Jack Harris of the California Post in their \u201cThe Dodger Post<\/a>\u201d show, Ohtani has tweaked his delivery on the mound, resulting in more powerful pitches.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhysically, he obviously looks great, just by the fact that he\u2019s hit 99 already. He\u2019s kind of doing this thing where he\u2019s tilting back a little bit more to generate more velocity, more power,\u201d Hernandez said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not beneficial for all his pitches, however.<\/p>\n

While Ohtani\u2019s fastball is more powerful, it has affected the control of his slider, Hernandez explained.<\/p>\n

That said, Hernandez doesn\u2019t believe it will prevent him from being successful on the mound this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s going to kind of figure things out,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cThere\u2019s no reason to think that he won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Feb 13, 2026; Glendale, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani (17) throws in the bullpen during spring training camp. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn ImagesWill Ohtani Pitch in the WBC?<\/p>\n

With the World Baseball Classic about to start, there\u2019s a great deal of interest into whether Ohtani will pitch for the Japanese squad.<\/p>\n

Ohtani hasn\u2019t appeared on the mound in any Cactus League games, and the Dodgers don\u2019t want him to pitch for Japan, either.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s said that he could pitch if former Angels teammate Mike Trout were up at the plate<\/a>, referencing their pivotal matchup in the 2023 WBC.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jun 16, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter and pitcher Shohei Ohtani (17) throws against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Trout, however, is set to miss the WBC due to insurance issues, so Ohtani\u2019s comments seem more like a joke than anything.<\/p>\n

That said, the prospect of Ohtani pitching in the WBC remains a possibility, although Hernandez said it\u2019s not probable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still think that, more likely than not, that he\u2019s not going to pitch,\u201d Hernandez said.<\/p>\n

Outlook for Ohtani\u2019s Pitching in 2026<\/p>\n

Though he didn\u2019t pitch in 2024, Ohtani had success in limited appearances on the mound in 2025.<\/p>\n

He had an ERA of 2.87 in 47 innings of work.<\/p>\n

During the playoffs, though he made history with a 10-strikeout game in which he also hit three home runs.<\/p>\n

Do you think he can keep that momentum going into 2026? Let us know in the comments!<\/p>\n

\"App<\/p>\n

LA Baseball Report<\/p>\n

Get the app for faster news<\/p>\n

GET<\/a> \u00d7 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani has found a way to get even better on the mound,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":592949,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2290],"tags":[5,468,558],"class_list":{"0":"post-592948","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baseball","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-shohei-ohtani","10":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116133770493866537","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592948","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=592948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/592949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=592948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=592948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}