Los Angeles Angels two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani is playing the best baseball of his life.
That’s pretty bold if you remember that he won AL MVP in 2021 by unanimous vote.
After striking out 10 batters as a pitcher Tuesday night against the Chicago White Sox, he struck out 127 in 95.1 innings with an excellent 3.02 ERA.
That’s good enough to bring him into the Cy Young conversation.
But that is not all!
He also hit two home runs to reach 28 in the 2023 campaign as a whole.
Once upon a time, the idea of a player capable of hitting 28 home runs and striking out 127 batters with a 3.02 ERA didn’t even cross our minds.
Now, there’s a guy who does it in just half a season.
Take a look at Ohtani’s full season pace:
Shohei Ohtani is on his way to record numbers at the plate and on the mound in 81 games! pic.twitter.com/aYGJSqR4Gn
-MLB (@MLB) June 28, 2023
He is projected, if he can maintain his current level of performance, to hit 56 home runs and strike out 254 batters.
That’s crazy from every angle you look at it.
If he ends up with those numbers, there’s no way he won’t win his second unanimous AL MVP award.
At the moment, no player on the youth circuit comes even remotely close to that level of performance.
Nobody, and the league is full of talented hitters and pitchers.
Ohtani is both a talented pitcher and hitter, and that’s unique in baseball history.
He’s going to be a very rich man once the World Series is over, because he’s ready to enter free agency.
His legendary skills will land him a nice $500 million contract, and that’s the bare minimum.
The sky is the limit for Ohtani.
NEXT:
Shohei Ohtani is having a month for ages
