Shohei Ohtani could break out of this slump and power the Los Angeles Dodgers to their third consecutive World Series.
That’s called fantasy baseball.
Then there’s reality baseball: Ohtani is a problem, not the solution, as the Dodgers head into Game 3 of the best-of-five NLDS tied with the Atlanta Braves at one game apiece.
In Game 2, which the Dodgers lost 3-2, Ohtani went 1-for-4 with an opposite-field single. The more alarming news: he had a chase rate of 53%, meaning more than half of the pitches he swung at were outside the strike zone.
His chase rate for the season is 30%, according to Baseball Savant.
Digging a little deeper into his performance in Game 2, Ohtani had 11 swings on 19 pitches, seven whiffs and a called strike and one hard hit,
per Yahoo Sports.
The Ohtani problem figures to be magnified Tuesday, Oct. 6 in Atlanta when the Dodgers are facing Braves ace Chris Sale.
In 16 plate appearances against Sale, Ohtani is 3-for-15 (.200) with only one extra-base hit (a double) and five strikeouts.
A potential bold move
Rather than play fantasy baseball – maybe Ohtani will look like himself in his next at-bat! – the Dodgers could act boldly.
That could mean pulling Ohtani from the lineup in favor of rookie Josue De Paula.
De Paula got his first postseason at-bat in Game 2, pinch hitting for Tommy Edman with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the Dodgers trailing 3-2. He fouled out for the final out, but there’s reason to invest more at-bats in De Paula.
He made his MLB debut Sept. 11 and during the regular season went 10-for-31 (.323) with three doubles, a triple and a home run.
"He's just a special hitter," Roberts said last week, per the California Post. "(His skill set) lines up in the postseason. And no moment is going to be too big for that kid."
Ohtani jolt remains evasive
Knee soreness and bicep inflammation landed Ohtani on the 15-day injury list in September. He returned to the lineup Sept. 23, giving him five regular-season games to round into form.
But at the plate, the old jolt remains evasive.
During the final five games of the regular season, Ohtani went 5-for-21 (.238) with one extra-base hit (a double) and eight strikeouts. It’s been more of the same during the first two playoff games, with Ohtani going 2-for-8 with a couple of base hits and two strikeouts.
And what does Ohtani say about his physical condition?
"I haven't heard anything other than he feels fine,’’ Roberts told reporters after Game 2.
The sight of Ohtana at-bats calls that into question.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Do Dodgers have a Shohei Ohtani problem? MVP becomes issue, not answer, in NLDS
