For everyone saying that Shohei Ohtani is doing something we’ve never seen before, I’m calling bullshit. We saw it last year by a player named Shohei Ohtani. Is it impressive? Absolutely. Are we witnessing history? I dunno. He can hit and he can pitch, and that’s awesome. But he’s a two-trick pony that’s performed the same two tricks last season. Show me something different. How about he gets behind the plate and catches some games. Or what about putting him up in the booth to call the games. I’m watching him pitch right now and they’re calling him a unicorn. If that’s the case, I’d love to see him put a horn on his hat and/or helmet.
Only 13 hitters have more strikeouts than Ohtani, who’s struck out 141 times in 503 at bats. Considering he’s the 11th ranked hitter in points, it just goes to show that it is possible for hitters that strikeout a lot to still thrive in points leagues. After all, Aaron Jude has 154 strikeouts and he has more points than any hitter. He also has 55 home runs. So there’s that. In leagues that only penalize a half a point for strikeouts, Ohtani becomes the 8th ranked hitter.
Let’s take a look at the bigger picture. Shohei’s points per plate appearance is 0.69 points. That puts him just ahead of Juan Soto (0.68), Rafael Devers (0.67) and Vlad Guerrero Jr. (0.65). But how does he actually play out in lineups? Do you start him as a hitter or a pitcher? We’ve already discussed his hitting points numbers. As a pitcher he has 426 points, which puts him in the 22nd spots in the SP rankings. Ohtani is averaging 17.75 points per start. That’s good enough for 12th, sandwiching him between Aaron Nola (17.82) and Yu Darvish (17.65). He’s currently ahead of Alec Manoah, Carlos Rodon, Max Fried and Shane Bieber. He legitimately is an All-Star at both positions. However, unless you’re in a daily league where you can take advantage of both his hitting and pitching points, he’s no more valuable than any of the other top 15 or so hitters or pitchers. With that said, I don’t see him as a first round pick.
In other news. I did mention Jake McCarthy in my last post about two weeks ago. Dude’s now got a 0.76 PPPA. That puts him ahead of Mike Trout (0.74), Kyle Tucker (0.74) and Jose Altuve (0.73). No hitter has more points than this guy in the last 28 days. Can’t wait to see where he’s drafted next season. I’m sure I’ll have little to no shares. But for now, those that have him are loving him. And they should.
In leagues that award points for quality starts, Framber Valdez has as many points as Shane McClanahan.
I’ve gotta take a hot second to say something nice about Marcus Semien. Early in the season when he was defecating the bed, I wished that he’d choke on a chicken nugget. Today he is a top twenty hitter in points leagues with 378 points (0.61 PPPA) and a decent shot at 25/25, He’s the 3rd ranked 2B and SS. Suffice it to say, I am no longer regretting my decision to trade Austin Riley for him on draft day. I made the move so that I could move up in the draft. Because I moved up I was able to draft Dylan Cease.
Hats off to Albert Pujols and what he’s doing this season. It’s crazy to see him put up a 0.73 PPPA at the age of 53. I really do hope he gets to 700 home runs.
If you’re still reading these posts, that likely means you are in the playoffs. Congrats.
Follow malamoney on Twitter at @malamoney
