Welcome back to the Dodgers Beat newsletter! MLB.com's Thomas Harrigan wrote this edition. As crazy as it sounds, Shohei Ohtani's hitting has almost become an afterthought this season. His historic start on the mound is a big reason why, but it’s not the only reason. The Dodgers’ two-way superstar also has been less explosive with the bat, hitting only 11 homers over the club’s first 67 games. That’s 12 fewer home runs than he had at this point last season, a campaign in which he produced his second straight 50-homer campaign en route to a career-high 55 dingers. His .521 slugging percentage entering Wednesday was 101 points lower than his final mark in 2025 (.622). And yet, amid that power decline, Ohtani still ranks among MLB’s top hitters. In fact, entering Wednesday’s game in Pittsburgh, no NL qualifier had been more productive by wRC+, where 100 is league average. Highest wRC+ among NL qualifiers, 2026 T1. Shohei Ohtani: 159
T1. Drake Baldwin: 159
T1. James Wood: 159
4. Jordan Walker: 156
5. Corbin Carroll: 154 |
His place on the leaderboard is even more remarkable when you consider the slow start he got off to at the plate. Ohtani had just a 113 wRC+ over his first 41 games, but he has put together a torrid stretch since May 12, slashing .414/.505/.711 with an MLB-leading 234 wRC+. Ohtani had more frequent off-days in the batter’s box early on this season as the Dodgers tried to manage his workload, but it’s been tougher to hold him out lately. Ohtani has been in the lineup in 23 of Los Angeles’ past 24 games. If this feels like an off year, it’s only because the 31-year-old has set such an insanely high bar for himself. This may be a less flashy brand of production than we’re used to seeing from him, but even without the home run barrage, he has been finding ways to beat opposing pitchers with a well-rounded profile few hitters can match. He’s also clubbed 15 doubles and collected a pair of triples. While Ohtani isn’t recording as many barrels -- the types of batted balls most likely to end up in the seats -- he’s still churning out a lot of high-value contact. This season, only eight hitters have recorded more batted balls that were both hard-hit and in the launch angle sweet-spot range. Hard-hit balls are good. Hard-hit balls in the ideal line drive and fly ball range of 8-32 degrees are better. |
Ohtani has hit 47 batted balls that meet both criteria. Not all of them qualified as barrels, but they were extremely valuable nonetheless, generating a collective .778 batting average and 1.600 slugging percentage. Ohtani also has maintained a patient approach, even as pitchers have increasingly tried to pitch around him. He’s walking at a 15.2% clip, nearly the same as last year (15.0%). His percentile ranks in those three categories explain why he’s hitting .301 with the highest on-base percentage in the NL at .417. • 95th in hard-hit rate • 96th in sweet-spot rate • 94th in walk rate It’s a rare combination. Only eight qualifying hitters rank in the 90th percentile or better in both hard-hit rate and sweet-spot rate, and just half of them have a walk rate that also checks that box. Along with Ohtani, the others are Yordan Alvarez, James Wood and Nick Kurtz -- four of the top seven hitters by wRC+ in 2026. So, yes, while there have been fewer fireworks from Ohtani this season, he’s still finding plenty of ways to light it up at the plate. |
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
The Dodgers announced the return of One Piece Night on July 2 against the Padres, celebrating the popular Japanese manga and anime series. The first 40,000 fans in attendance will receive a straw hat and limited-edition Dodgers One Piece card. The night will be capped by a postgame drone show featuring characters from the series. For more on One Piece Night, and the other promotions coming to Dodger Stadium, click here. |
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