Shohei Ohtani’s hitting was very good in 2017. In 231 plate appearances, he had a .332 average with an OBP of .403 and OPS of .942. But remember, that’s against Japanese pitching, which is somewhere between Triple-A and the Yankees. How would that stack up against the best shooters in the world?
Then I went to the pitching — where he had a very good ERA of 3.20. Again, that comes against Japanese hitters. And the Nippon Ham Fighters dominated their league with ease.
Then I see only 25 1/3 innings pitched in 2017. Seriously!