Shohei Ohtani's pitching stats: What can the Dodgers expect?

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It's been a long wait, but Shohei Ohtani is finally ready to make his Los Angeles Dodgers debut on the mound.

The Dodgers announced late Sunday, June 15, that the reigning National League MVP, who underwent elbow surgery in September 2023 as a member of the Los Angeles Angels, will start tonight's game at Dodger Stadium against the San Diego Padres.

Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million free agent contract with the Dodgers following the 2023 season in which he pitched and hit his way to a second American League MVP award. However, the elbow injury put a temporary halt to his two-way heroics, and the Dodgers were very careful to bring him along slowly in his recovery.

How will the Dodgers use Shohei Ohtani?

While Ohtani has continued to hit at an MVP level -- he leads the National League with 25 home runs and a .642 slugging percentage -- he has been building up his arm strength on the side. That's because he can't go on a rehab assignment in the minors, as any other pitcher would before returning to a big-league mound, because his bat is much too valuable.

He has faced live hitters five times since being cleared to throw off a mound, throwing 44 pitches recently over three simulated innings.

Perhaps the main reason for his surprising early return is the wave of injuries the Dodgers have experienced in their pitching rotation this season.  Starters Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell have been out since April, rookie Roki Sasaki hasn't been on the mound since May and Tony Gonsolin went on the injured list earlier this month.

Ohtani is expected to serve as an opener and only throw one or two innings in his first start of the season.

Shohei Ohtani's pitching stats

Ohtani became the first true two-way star of the DH era when he signed as a free agent with the Angels in 2018.

In his first season on the mound, he made 10 starts and compiled a 4-2 record with 63 strikeouts and a 3.31 ERA over 51 2/3 innings.

He did not pitch in 2019 after undergoing his first Tommy John surgery that offseason. And he returned in 2020 for only two token starts (covering 1 2/3 innings) at the end of the season.

Ohtani returned to pitching full-time with the Angels in 2021, making at least 23 starts and tossing at least 130 innings in each of the next three seasons. He even finished fourth in the AL Cy Young award voting in 2022, when he posted career-best marks in innings (166), wins (15), strikeouts (219) and ERA (2.33).

Ohtani's complete pitching stats, all with the Los Angeles Angels:

Source: Baseball-Reference.com