Shohei Ohtani will make his Dodgers spring coaching debut Tuesday towards the White Sox, and one query has lastly been answered. Ohtani will likely be second within the lineup, between Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
Again at DodgerFest at Dodger Stadium on Feb. 3, supervisor Dave Roberts stated he nonetheless hadn't determined the order of when his three MVPs would bat. “I don't know that the highest three on opening day will likely be seamless all season lengthy,” he stated. “Is it might it occurs, however I need Mookie and Freddie and Shohei to be a part of the dialog.
Ohtani's first Dodgers lineup
| Participant | Pos |
|---|---|
| Participant | Pos |
| Beds | 2B |
| Ohtani (L) | DH |
| Freeman (L) | 1B |
| Smith | C |
| Muncy (L) | 3B |
| T. Hernandez | LF |
| Hayward (L) | RF |
| Rojas | St |
| Ramos | CF |
This assembly between Roberts, Ohtani, Betts and Freeman happened final week at Camelback Ranch, Freeman. he told reporters Friday in Arizona.
“I don't assume it issues the place any of us are going to hit, so long as we rating extra runs on the finish of the sport,” Freeman stated again at DodgerFest.
Freeman (.410) and Betts (.408) completed fifth and sixth, respectively, within the majors in on-base proportion in 2023, whereas Ohtani (.412) was second. This 12 months, Freeman, Betts and Ohtani are projected to complete sixth, seventh and twenty third in OBP by ZiPS, are projected fifth, tenth and eighth by Steamer, and projected seventh, eighth and sixth by PECOTA at Baseball Prospectus.
Final season, the Dodgers' No. 3 hitters hit 396 occasions with runners on base, with catcher Will Smith accounting for 287 of these plate appearances. Freeman, who began … all video games whereas batting second, struck out 317 occasions with runners on base, most on the Dodgers.
Ohtani has averaged 145 begins over the previous three seasons, averaging 273 plate appearances with runners on base from 2021-23.
In different phrases, anticipate much more pitching alternatives involving Ohtani with the Dodgers than he had with the Angels, whether or not he's batting second or third.
“You may see what makes the highest of this lineup so thrilling,” MLB.com's Mike Petriello stated earlier in February, “to not point out the secondary advantages of Smith, a 2023 All-Star, hitting within the center third “.
