Shohei Ohtani Signs with the Angels

[Sammy Sofa]

So lets assume that some team actually lets him play the OF on his non pitching days.

 

How is it going to work for fantasy baseball purposes? You have to draft 2 different players? He gets SP and OF position eligibility?

 

His hang up is that he wants to play in the OF right? He wouldn't be happy being the DH?

 

I'll bet you eleventy trillion dollars there's zero chance this happens.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

So I've read Shohei has missed some time pitching the past month but have struggled to find the exact ailment. I've seen wrist injury, blister but nothing definite (possibly because I'm bad at finding the right Japanese article to translate).

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Sorry, but as the URL clearly says, that is the last word on baseball. Maybe next time.

[Sammy Sofa]

I thought we were all horsefeathers pitchers these days.

[mul21]

I thought we were all [expletive] pitchers these days.

 

Well, yeah, but this guy is also a dongsmith so we're on board right?

[Cubswin11]

I thought we were all [expletive] pitchers these days.

When they only cost money they don't suck quite as much

[Derwood]

I thought we were all [expletive] pitchers these days.

 

Well, yeah, but this guy is also a dongsmith so we're on board right?

 

So he's Matt Bush?

[David]

I thought we were all [expletive] pitchers these days.

 

Well, yeah, but this guy is also a dongsmith so we're on board right?

 

So he's Matt Bush?

 

what the hell

[Sammy Sofa]

I thought we were all [expletive] pitchers these days.

 

Well, yeah, but this guy is also a dongsmith so we're on board right?

 

If he can accept that The Scout isn't a documentary and is content to be, say, Zambrano+ in terms of hitting while focusing on being an amazing starting pitcher, sure.

[Derwood]

 

Well, yeah, but this guy is also a dongsmith so we're on board right?

 

So he's Matt Bush?

 

what the hell

 

I was joking. Bush hit .450 with 11 HR and 35 RBI while also going 5-1 with a 0.73 ERA in his senior year of high school

[weis21]

 

So he's Matt Bush?

 

what the hell

 

I was joking. Bush hit .450 with 11 HR and 35 RBI while also going 5-1 with a 0.73 ERA in his senior year of high school

lol david. can't believe you didn't think about his HS stats. it was only a dozen years ago.

[imb]

lol

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Matt Bush: The only player ever to both pitch and hit well in high school.

[imb]

Matt Bush: The only player ever to both pitch and hit well in high school.

 

still laughing

[David]

Matt Bush: The only player ever to both pitch and hit well in high school.

Mainly this was my thing. Not to mention that Matt Bush is notorious for other things, like almost killing someone, which makes him an odd guy to bring up.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Matt Bush: The only player ever to both pitch and hit well in high school.

Mainly this was my thing. Not to mention that Matt Bush is notorious for other things, like almost killing someone, which makes him an odd guy to bring up.

 

Yeah, I think all references to O.J. Simpson as a football player were put on hold once he decided to murder people. There are plenty of other running backs you can compare people to, without having to preface your statement with: "except for the murdering."

[Derwood]

Matt Bush: The only player ever to both pitch and hit well in high school.

Mainly this was my thing. Not to mention that Matt Bush is notorious for other things, like almost killing someone, which makes him an odd guy to bring up.

 

I only brought him up because he was the first guy I thought of where his future position wasn't known when he was drafted. He could've been drafted as either a pitcher or a hitter. And we had him in a sim league and despite giving him gaudy ratings, he basically sucked like in real life

[imb]

Matt Bush: The only player ever to both pitch and hit well in high school.

Mainly this was my thing. Not to mention that Matt Bush is notorious for other things, like almost killing someone, which makes him an odd guy to bring up.

 

I only brought him up because he was the first guy I thought of where his future position wasn't known when he was drafted. He could've been drafted as either a pitcher or a hitter. And we had him in a sim league and despite giving him gaudy ratings, he basically sucked like in real life

 

His sim version did not kill anyone tho, so he had that going for him

[Derwood]

Mainly this was my thing. Not to mention that Matt Bush is notorious for other things, like almost killing someone, which makes him an odd guy to bring up.

 

I only brought him up because he was the first guy I thought of where his future position wasn't known when he was drafted. He could've been drafted as either a pitcher or a hitter. And we had him in a sim league and despite giving him gaudy ratings, he basically sucked like in real life

 

His sim version did not kill anyone tho, so he had that going for him

 

And he didn't die mid season like a few if them did

[imb]

seriously is he a hitter or a pitcher or both when he comes over?

[Cubswin11]

seriously is he a hitter or a pitcher or both when he comes over?

Pitcher, then when his arm dies let him make the transition to a hitter

[davell]

seriously is he a hitter or a pitcher or both when he comes over?

 

Longenhagen(FG prospects guy) doesn't see him as a top 100 prospect, if looked at as a hitter only.

[Clem Fandango]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/the-legend-of-shohei-otani-grows-after-throwing-fastest-pitch-ever-in-japan-001630360.html

 

Japanese ace Shohei Otani has already given Major League Baseball teams plenty of reasons to drool over him, but he added another Tuesday: Otani, a 22-year-old pitcher for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, threw the fastest pitch ever recorded in the history of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball organization.

 

Otani hit 164 kph, which translates to 101.9 mph, breaking his own mark of 163 kph, set earlier this season. Interestingly enough, the fastest pitch ever in Japanese pro baseball was knocked into the outfield for a two-run single.

 

Don’t let that ruin the Otani hype train, though. Get ready to hear his name a lot, since he figures to one of the next big Japanese stars that MLB teams will be courting. He struck out nine in five innings Tuesday, giving him 142 K’s this season in 118 innings. In one start this season, he threw 31 pitches that were 99 mph or faster.

 

All this is enough to earn Otani the title of the most intriguing pitching prospect in the world, according to some. But there’s one more particularly fascinating wrinkle in Otani’s story, and it might even be better than the 102 mph fastball.

 

Otani is also one of the best hitters in Japanese baseball. He’s the winner of this year’s NPB Home Run Derby, he ranks seventh in the league in homers and he’s his team’s go-to DH. He also leads the NPB in OPS at 1.036, which is higher than even the MLB leader, Davis Ortiz at 1.034. Everybody knew Otani was a good pitcher, but he’s having a breakout season at the plate too, improving his slash from .202/.252/.376 in 2015 to .326/.425/.611 this season.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Dave Dreiftas at 20-80 Baseball theorizes Otani's best fit would be the Cubs because of Maddon's love for versatility: http://2080baseball.com/2016/09/ohtani-making-noise-in-two-way-player-debate-and-an-mlb-team-will-listen/

 

In fact, the Cubs could be the best fit for Ohtani to do both, and much of that has to do with manager Joe Maddon, and his ability to manage just about any scenario. The clubhouse culture that team president Theo Epstein and Maddon have created is a great fit for almost any player, plus Ohtani would come in surrounded by a lot of other young, high-end talent and not bear the weight of being the face of the franchise. On top of that, both Epstein and Maddon have experience with Asian players making the transition to the U.S.— with Maddon getting the absolute best out of second baseman Aki Iwamura during his years in Tampa, and Epstein maneuvering his way through the up and downs of Matsuzaka’s tenure in Boston from 2007-12. Yes, that would mean Ohtani won’t be taking advantage of the DH option in the A.L., but if anyone can figure out how to keep him productive on the mound, at the dish, and in the field it’s Joe Maddon.

[Gilby]

I'm not gonna pretend to know a lot about the guy, but I have to believe there's gonna be multiple AL teams willing to promise him DH AB's vs righties. I can't imagine Maddon would be allowed to play him in the outfield.