Did you catch Shohei Ohtani 3.0 pitching in Arizona on Saturday? It is an Ohtani we have never seen before.
In his first bullpen session of the spring after his second surgery to his right elbow, the Los Angeles Dodgers two-way sensation broke out a windup we have never seen from him in MLB before. He started with his shoulders nearly square to the hitter and took a drop step with his left foot before beginning the leg lift phase of his delivery. The windup allows him to generate more momentum with his body, which theoretically could take more strain off his arm.
Let’s look at the Ohtani we knew from his pitching days with the Angels, when he threw out of the stretch position even with no one on base.
Three elements stand out across those frames:
1. In all of them, Ohtani pitches from the stretch and from the center of the rubber.
2. Ohtani in 2023 modified his hand position, most likely to prevent the possibilities of any tells.
3. He’s gotten bigger and stronger.
Now look at Ohtani 3.0 on Saturday—with his shoulders more squared to the hitter and that step back behind the rubber with his left foot to start a traditional windup. The drop step appears to move his plant foot slightly to the first-base side.
With Ohtani, you can be certain he has meaningful reasons for this change. He is as purposeful a player as I ever have come across.
“I don’t think it was anything that was widely discussed,” says one Dodgers source, “but he has a ton of intent and conviction in everything he does, for sure.”
Ohtani threw 92–94 mph in the session. He is just beginning a throwing progression that should have him in the Dodgers rotation in May. But the early signs are very good, especially when it comes to his arm health.
In addition to the windup, the most striking element to his bullpen session was a return to his higher, more natural arm slot. Before Ohtani broke down in 2023, his vertical release point on his four-seam fastball was creeping lower.
|
Ohtani Four-Seam Fastball |
Vertical Release |
|---|---|
|
2021 |
6.09 |
|
2022 |
5.94 |
|
2023 |
5.69 |
The metrics on his bullpen session were not available, but anecdotally his slot this spring is noticeably higher than it was in 2023. Compare the position of his hand at ball release in relation to the top of his cap:
Ohtani is coming off two surgeries to his elbow within five years, not to mention surgery three months ago to repair a torn labrum in his left (non-throwing) shoulder. And yet there he was throwing free and easy in a new, improved form. It’s just one more reason why Ohtani continues to amaze us.
