The Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani returned to the mound on Sunday for his first pitching appearance since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2018. And it did *not* go well.
Ohtani got the start in Oakland against the A’s, and failed to record an out. The right-hander allowed five earned runs, three hits, and three walks. He faced just six batters and threw 30 pitches.
Brutal outings happen for any pitcher, and especially with the rust — particularly in the command department — that comes with not pitching in an MLB game in two years.
But what’s really concerning is that Ohtani’s velocity was *way* down from 2018. After averaging 96.7 mph with his fastball in 2018 (and occasionally touching triple-digits), Ohtani’s average fastball velocity was 92.9 mph on Sunday.
That’s an alarming drop.
However, it’s a tiny sample, Ohtani hadn’t pitched in two years after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and velocity is down for many pitchers early in the season. So maybe he’ll see a velocity boost in his upcoming starts.
And when asked postgame about the velocity, Ohtani didn’t seem worried. Ohtani mentioned how he was aiming too much instead of just pitching/throwing.
Additionally, Angels manager Joe Maddon said that Ohtani’s velocity was a little higher in the Angels’ intrasquad games.
It’s far too early to jump to conclusions, but it’s absolutely concerning until we see the velocity increasing from the two-way sensation. And it’s a tiny season, so it would really help the Angels if Ohtani could see improvements sooner than later.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.