Shohei Ohtani first got his mound this spring on Saturday.
The Dodgers' two-way superstar threw 14 pitches back to all first balls of two- and four-seams in front of 1,000 fans in Glendale, Arizona. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
Otani, 30, won rave reviews from his manager.
“I thought it was great,” Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts told reporters. “Looking at his delivery, it was really good, clean arm strokes. …Well, the speed, the ball was really getting better. He seemed pretty pleased with it and I think the command was really good. He's very positive.”
Otani reportedly hit a radar gun between 92 and 94 mph, which is not usually far from where he would be a summer summer at speed.
“He was looking at speeds earlier, and then he was looking for the depth and movement of his two-seamer, two-seamer,” added Roberts. “So you just line up that up on what he feels. But it's interesting that he's very good at knowing what he does, so much of his thoughts are metrics. It's alongside what you say. Here, the first day is amazing.”
The bullpen session was part of a long recovery period for Otani, who underwent elbow surgery in September 2023 and pitched none in 2024.
Otani is away from the Monster 2024 season, winning the National League MVP Award as DH in his first season with the Dodgers, with .310/.390/.646 on 54 home runs, 130 RBIs and 59 stolen bases. I hit it.
Earlier this month, Otani told reporters at Dodger Fest in Los Angeles that he didn't know he'd returned to the mound in a major league game.
Roberts said Otani will be back on the mound in May.
