Shohei the Money: Analyzing the Value of a Two-Way Player
The first time Shohei Ohtani both pitched and hit in the same game this spring, he threw a 101.9 mph pitch and got two hits and a walk.
Then he did it in the regular season on April 4th and hit a 451-foot home run, while also striking out seven batters in 4 2/3 innings. He hit 100 mph on the radar gun nine times. Ironically, he had to come out of that game after getting injured on a play at the plate, while pitching, not running.
And speaking of running, Ohtani is one of the fastest runners in MLB. He is 13th in the major leagues (10+ opportunities) with a sprint speed of 29 feet/second, one place ahead of Mike Trout. And he is in the 100th percentile for maximum exit velocity, as he has hit a 119-mph double this season.
In my view, dealing with adversity can be considered a sixth tool. So let me be the first to say Shohei Ohtani is the first six-tool two-way player to grace MLB since Babe Ruth.
Ohtani’s adversity is two-fold. Injuries and playing for the Angels, a consistent under-achieving team in spite of their three current superstars, Trout, Anthony Rendon, and Ohtani.
Now that Joe Maddon and his ever-innovative mind is managing the Angels, look for Ohtani to be used in more and more creative ways to maximize his elite and extensive skill set while minimizing injuries.
How the Angels Can Manipulate the DH
The actual MLB official DH rule includes more elements than are commonly used or even known. I will examine a few that may come into play while Ohtani is with the Angels.
(5) The Designated Hitter may be used on defense, continuing to bat in the same position in the batting order, but the pitcher must then bat in the place of the substituted defensive player, unless more than one substitution is made, and the manager then must designate their spots in the batting order.
Anytime Ohtani is the DH, he may come in to pitch and remain in his spot in the batting order. If the Angels decide to use him as a closer, this rule would come into play as a huge advantage. The downside, of course, is once they remove Ohtani from the mound, they have to use the next pitcher in his spot in the batting order.
Unless they put Ohtani in right field!
He played 57 games in right field and seven in left field when he was playing in Japan. In this case, the new pitcher replaces the right fielder in the batting order.
(8) Once the game pitcher is switched from the mound to a position on defense, such move shall terminate the Designated Hitter role for that Club for the remainder of the game.
This seems less likely for the Angels, but Ohtani could start as the pitcher with someone else as DH. If the Angels want to allow Ohtani to bat late in the game, he can play right field and the new pitcher would replace the previous right fielder in the batting order.
(9) Once a pinch-hitter bats for any player in the batting order and then enters the game to pitch, such move shall terminate the Designated Hitter role for that Club for the remainder of the game.
This is a tricky one that I doubt has been used much if at all. If I’m reading it correctly, he could pinch hit for the current DH and then it becomes the same as Rule 5 above. Or he could bat for any other position player and remain as the pitcher, with the replacement position player taking the DH’s batting order spot.
For example:
1. Fletcher 4
2. Trout 8
3. Rendon 5
4. Walsh 3
5. Upton 7 [Ohtani pinch hits for Upton in the top of the seventh, and stays in to pitch replacing Heaney.]
6. Pujols DH [In the bottom of the seventh, Jose Rojas replaces Upton in LF and Pujols in the order, because the DH is no longer in use.]
7. Iglesias 6
8. Schebler 9
9. Stassi 2
P Heaney
The advantage of doing this is choosing when to use Ohtani to hit instead of waiting for his DH turn to come up. Also this could get him two at bats and three innings pitching, while also giving him six innings of rest. In this role, he is combination piggyback pitcher/pinch hitter.
(10) Once the game pitcher bats or runs for the Designated Hitter, such move shall terminate the Designated Hitter role for that Club for the remainder of the game. The game pitcher may pinch-hit or pinch-run only for the Designated Hitter.
This is a new one for me. When Ohtani starts or relieves as a pitcher and there is a DH, he could pinch hit or pinch run for the DH at any time and take that player’s spot in the batting order. He is not the DH though, so if Ohtani is removed as pitcher, the new pitcher takes over that spot in the batting order.
This is the ultimate secret weapon though. Imagine the bases are loaded in the sixth inning and Gerrit Cole is pitching for the Yankees. Starting pitcher Ohtani pops out of the dugout with his batting helmet on and a bat in hand to hit for Pujols. Chaos ensues as Aaron Boone sprints out of the dugout to question the legality of this bold move.
Losing the DH for the last few innings is a small price to pay for such an awesome moment, and maybe even a 450-foot Grand Slam!
How I Would Utilized Ohtani
I like the added flexibility of using Ohtani as a closer rather than a starter. The Angels already have five decent starters in Dylan Bundy, Andrew Heaney, Jose Quintana, Alex Cobb, and Griffin Canning. Without having to constantly adjust to Ohtani’s availability, there is no need for a six starters.
The bullpen, while much improved from last season, could certainly use Ohtani closing out games a couple of times a week, and pitching up to three innings per outing. This also allows him to DH every day instead of resting the day before and after each start.
Why Can’t the Mets Do This With Noah Syndergaard?
Some Mets fans have suggested, maybe in jest although it is often hard to tell, that Noah Syndergaard should be a two-way player, since he can also hit the ball about as far as Ohtani, but unfortunately not nearly as often.
My answer is 57.4%. That’s Syndergaard’s career strikeout percentage in 251 plate appearances.
For comparison, Jacob deGrom’s career K% is 27.2, which is just slightly worse than the major league average in 391 PAs.
Syndergaard has a career wRC+ of 29 while deGrom’s is 31. So if anyone should be a two-play player, it’s deGrom, but no, this is never going to happen unless deGrom’s batting exit velocity increases along with his pitch velocity.
Some History of the Designated Hitter Rule and It’s Variations
Here’s a little historical context for the DH written by John Cronin for the Fall 2016 Baseball Research Journal that is well worth reading.
“The DH may have been a revolutionary concept, but it was by no means a new one. The idea of a player hitting for the pitcher every time his turn comes up had its roots in the late nineteenth century. The seeds were sown in 1887 when rule changes permitting substitutes in the game were explored,” writes Cronin.
Evidently, pitchers couldn’t hit well in 1887 either, except for the rare two-way player.
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