Los Angeles Angels two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani is playing the best baseball of his life.
That’s actually quite bold if you remember that he won the AL MVP in 2021 unanimously.
After striking out 10 hitters as a pitcher on Tuesday night against the Chicago White Sox, he reached 127 punchouts in 95.1 innings with an excellent 3.02 ERA.
That’s actually good enough to put him in the Cy Young conversation.
But that’s not all!
He also slugged two home runs to reach 28 for the 2023 campaign as a whole.
Once upon a time, the thought of a player capable of hitting 28 homers and striking out 127 batters with a 3.02 ERA didn’t even cross our minds.
Now, there is a guy doing it in just one half of a season.
Take a look at Ohtani’s full-season pace:
Shohei Ohtani is on pace for historic numbers at the plate and on the mound through 81 games! pic.twitter.com/aYGJSqR4Gn
— MLB (@MLB) June 28, 2023
He is projected, if he can keep up his current performance level, to hit 56 homers and strike out 254 hitters.
That’s actually insane from every angle you analyze it.
If he finishes with those numbers, there is no way he doesn’t win his second unanimous AL MVP award.
At the moment, no player in the junior circuit comes even remotely close to that performance level.
No one, and the league is full of talented hitters and pitchers.
Ohtani is both a talented pitcher and hitter, and that’s unique in baseball history.
He will become a very rich man once the World Series ends, because he is set to enter free agency.
His legendary skills will secure him a nice $500 million contract, and that’s the minimum.
The sky is the limit for Ohtani.
NEXT: Shohei Ohtani Is Having A Month For The Ages
