Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is making strides in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, gradually increasing his throwing distance and speed.
The two-way phenom has started throwing from 60 feet and has reached 80 mph, a promising sign for his eventual return to the mound.
In a recent interview, Ohtani shared his progress, saying, “Just progressively increasing the distance… usually anywhere from 60-70 pitches, in that distance. Just continuing to increase the distance and the pitches, and just seeing where that goes. I’m not quite sure how far I’m going to go out there, but that’s the progression.”
Despite being limited to hitting this season, Ohtani is on pace for the best offensive year of his career, leading the majors in batting average (.336) and total bases (131) through 53 games. He also tops the National League in slugging percentage (.621), OPS (1.024), and OPS+ (188).
Ohtani has been playing through a hamstring contusion, which has affected his running but not his swing. He reported, “It’s getting better day by day. Today is definitely a lot better than yesterday.”
As Ohtani continues his recovery, fans eagerly await his return to the mound, where he previously excelled with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 132 innings across 23 starts for the Los Angeles Angels last season.
