The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Has Never Been Better

Maybe this is simply Shohei Ohtani doing his darndest to live up to the first $700 million contract in sports history.

Or maybe this is him extra-determined to be worthy of being the face of both Major League Baseball and its most powerful franchise. Or maybe this is him exulting in his exoneration from the Ippei Mizuhara gambling scandal.

Whatever it is that's driving him, the results are...well, "impressive" doesn't cut it.

Ohtani's first 27 games as a Los Angeles Dodger have mostly consisted of him being the hottest hitter on the planet. Prior to taking an 0-for-4 on Thursday against the Washington Nationals, he had led MLB with [deep breath] 39 hits, 14 doubles, 21 extra-base hits, 73 total bases, a .371 batting average, a .695 slugging percentage and a 1.129 OPS.

Basically, imagine if his 119 mph, 450-foot home run from Tuesday was a wall of stats:

"You feel grateful to be on the same team as a guy like him," Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas told reporters.

That the Dodgers have yet to fully take off is something of an uncomfortable reality in the greater Los Angeles area, but their 16-11 record is good enough for their customary spot atop the National League West. As promised, everyone is on track to finally see what Ohtani can do in the MLB postseason.

It would be a fitting capper for what already feels like the two-time MVP's most dominant season as a major leaguer.

Hitting Stats Don't Come More Eye-Popping Than These

There is, of course, another plausible explanation for why Ohtani has gotten off to such a good start.

Whereas the 29-year-old split time between hitting and pitching for most of his six years as a Los Angeles Angel, his recovery from right elbow surgery has narrowed his focus just to hitting in 2024. The bigger surprise would be if he wasn't red hot.

But make no mistake, this is the hottest Ohtani has ever begun a season. Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com, every single one of the numbers referenced above are new highs for him through the first 26 games of a season.

Nary a shred of his success can be chalked up to good luck. He's operating with the lowest strikeout rate of his career, and he's responsible for 0.75 percent of the hard-hit balls (i.e., at least 95 mph off the bat) from across the league.

Which, by the way, is a first:

According to FanGraphs, Ohtani is on pace for 87 doubles, 37 home runs and 31 stolen bases. Nobody's ever come close to achieving just that first number in a single season, much less in conjunction with the other three numbers.

Ohtani Could Make MVP History Again

Ohtani's name already looms large in the history of the Most Valuable Player award.

With his triumphs in the American League MVP voting in 2021 and 2023, he became the first player to unanimously win multiple MVPs. Technically, those two wins also account for the only two MVPs ever awarded to a primary designated hitter.

And yet I propose: If Ohtani did win his third MVP this year, it would be the first true case of a DH winning the award.

He also pitched in 2021 and 2023, after all, and what he did on the mound for those two seasons was crucial for his overall value. Though he led the majors in overall WAR both years, he would have merely tied for 21st and for eighth among position players if his WAR production had been all bat and no arm.

According to DraftKings, Ohtani is the No. 2 favorite to win the NL MVP behind teammate Mookie Betts. It's hardly an indefensible position, as Betts also boasts an OPS over 1.000 and is doing fine work at shortstop to boot.

Nevertheless, the same on-pace-for numbers referenced above also project Ohtani to finish with 11.1 WAR. That would put him 3.4 WAR above the highest mark ever recorded by a DH.

One would think that gets the voters' attention, especially if so many other numbers are there for Ohtani, and the Dodgers are once again the kings of the NL West.

The Playoffs Are Beckoning Ohtani

Mind you, the Dodgers' status as the de facto favorites in the NL West isn't really why Ohtani picked them. His sights are set higher than division titles.

"I mean obviously I want to win championships," he said at his introduction in December. "And I want, when people look back at the championships I won, I want people to know or think that I was a core member, and I was a big deal, or I was a big part of that championship-winning team."

Despite the Dodgers' up-and-down start to the year, the odds of Ohtani realizing this goal in Year 1 of his 10-year contract remain solid.

FanGraphs gives them a 25.3 percent chance of making it to the World Series, and a 15.1 percent chance of winning it. Only Atlanta has them beat on both fronts, which is perhaps overly bullish in the context of ace Spencer Strider's season-ending injury.

More deserving of bullishness is Ohtani's chances of thriving in the playoffs if and when the Dodgers get there. Because what he lacks in experience, he more than makes up for with his clutch gene and general vibe.

In addition to being a phenomenal hitter in general, he might be the best clutch hitter in the game today. Out of all hitters who've taken at least 200 plate appearances in high-leverage spots since 2021, he's the only one with an OPS over 1.000.

Besides, any time there's been any kind of pressure on Ohtani, he's exhibited a preternatural ability to handle it.

There were doubts about his viability as a two-way player ahead of his rookie year in 2018, and again after injuries kept him off the mound for all of 2019 and almost all of 2020. Both times, he ultimately responded with two-way production that would make Babe Ruth blush.

Starting the All-Star Game? Easy. Carrying Japan to World Baseball Classic victory? A bit harder, but OK.

And while the events are still fresh, Ohtani's reaction to the Mizuhara scandal is the most, well, Ohtani he has ever been. The whole sports world was freaking out, yet he was as calm as could be in denying all involvement in a press conference. It was like the polar opposite of Ryan Braun's PED speech from 2012, but in tenor and in truthfulness.

To say Ohtani is always unfazed isn't wrong, but it doesn't quite feel right, either. He's more like anti-fazed. A guy who doesn't merely deflect pressure, but who absorbs it and uses it as fuel.

Admittedly, only so many things can be taken for granted for the life of Ohtani's contract with the Dodgers. Ten years is a long time, and he's already in that space between not exactly old but not exactly young either.

With the way he's going, though, it's actually possible to imagine his $700 million deal feeling a little light by the end of this year.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.