Shohei Ohtani DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani (elbow, shoulder) will face live pitching -- either off a Trajekt machine or a pitcher -- for the first time in camp on Friday. Ohtani didn't pitch at all in his first season in L.A. in 2024 due to Tommy John surgery, and he also had surgery to fix the labrum in his left (non-throwing) shoulder last November. His elbow injury clearly didn't slow him down at all as a hitter, as he set a new MLB record as the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season. We don't think the 30-year-old three-time MVP will have any trouble coming back from his shoulder injury this year as a hitter. He'll be delayed from making his pitching debut in 2025 until May, but Ohtani will continue to serve as the team's regular DH and leadoff hitter and is the consensus No. 1 overall fantasy pick after his monstrous campaign a year ago.

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani (elbow, shoulder) has thrown mostly out of the full windup in his first two bullpen sessions this spring after pitching almost exclusively out of the stretch in his time with the Los Angeles Angels. "As part of being a baseball player, I do want to explore different options ...different avenues, to see if I could grow as a player. I do that on the pitching side as well as a hitter," Ohtani said. The 30-year-old three-time MVP plans to continue using the windup once he begins pitching in games to see how his body responds. The change probably won't make much of an impact on Ohtani's fantasy value as he returns to pitching in 2025 after not pitching at all in his first year with the Dodgers while recovering from Tommy John surgery. The Dodgers are slow-playing him as a pitcher, and he's unlikely to make his pitching debut for the Blue until sometime in May.

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani will remain in the leadoff spot heading into his second season with the team, according to manager Dave Roberts. Roberts said a lineup that starts with Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman "makes the most sense." Ohtani won his third MVP award and first in the National League in 2024 in his first year with the Dodgers by becoming the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases. The four-time All-Star finished with league-highs in WAR (9.2), plate appearances (731), runs (134), homers (54), RBI (130), on-base percentage (.390), slugging percentage (.646), OPS (1.036) and total bases (411) while also helping the Dodgers win the World Series. It's no surprise that he'll be the first player off the board in most fantasy drafts as a hitter in 2025.