OC Register: Shohei Ohtani has mixed results at the plate, working on an Angels off day

[AngelsWin.com]

TEMPE, Ariz. — Shohei Ohtani’s day began with a bang and ended with a whimper.

Ohtani, one of a few Angels summoned to work on the team’s day off Tuesday, came to bat nine times in what amounted to a controlled scrimmage, starting the day with a double into the gap and ending with one of his three strikeouts.

Ohtani was 2 for 8 with a walk. The moment that might best symbolize the work he still needs to do to become a major league hitter came in his final at-bat, when Tyler Skaggs threw him a curveball and he swung through it so fiercely that his helmet popped off his head.

Ohtani then took a called third strike on a fastball, his third strikeout of the day. A left-handed hitter, Ohtani had earlier struck out on a curve and a changeup from the left-handed Skaggs.

“Skaggs thew a couple changeups to him in a couple at-bats that he hadn’t seen before in deep counts and he was a little out in front and he struck out,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “You can see his timing is coming. He’s hitting the ball hard. He had good at-bats all afternoon. Those at-bats will hopefully get him where he needs to be.”

Usually, there is little to be gained by analyzing at-bats in spring training. Ohtani, however, is gaining extra scrutiny, for obvious reasons. Ohtani is attempting to succeed in the majors as a pitcher and a hitter, an unprecedented accomplishment in modern baseball. So far in the spring, he has shown flashes of his talent at both, but he’s mostly struggled, which is perhaps to be expected for a 23-year-old who has never played in the majors.

In order to accelerate his adjustments to big league pitching, the Angels took advantage of the ability to create plenty of opportunities for him and other players during Tuesday’s break from the Cactus League schedule.

Skaggs and Nick Tropeano each pitched five innings, alternating turns on the mound. They faced the same group of hitters, over and over. Besides Ohtani, the Angels got at-bats for Chris Young (strained calf), Jefry Marte (groin tightness) and Nolan Fontana (shoulder inflammation). None had played in games lately. They each hit and then were replaced by pinch-runners.

Young was 2 for 8 with two doubles and a flyout to the warning track. Marte was 1 for 7 with a walk and a sacrifice fly. Fontana was 1 for 5 with a walk.

It was mostly a good day for the pitchers.

Skaggs allowed a run in the first, but then nothing else. He struck out eight. Tropeano gave up three runs in the first, one because of an error, and nothing else.

“It felt great today,” Skaggs said. “I threw all my pitches. I thought I threw the ball well. … I felt like I was throwing harder the last two innings than the first two.”

Skaggs showed an improving changeup, a pitch that he’s trying to add to his repertoire this year. While Skaggs’ positive was Ohtani’s negative, both Ohtani and Scioscia chose to look at the bright side of the workout. He did make some solid contact, particularly early in the day. Besides his double into the gap in left-center, Ohtani hit a single into right and a line drive out to third.

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It is probably no coincidence that both hits and the lineout were against the right-handed Tropeano. He only put one ball in play, a groundout, against the left-handed Skaggs. He also walked against Skaggs.

“I thought it was pretty good as I was able to square up a few pitches,” Ohtani said in Japanese, via the team’s media relations department. “I’m not sure how that will pan out in games but I hope to make adjustments at each of my at-bats.”

Ohtani, who is 2 for 18 in Cactus League games, could get in the lineup again on Wednesday, if he feels able to play. He has to throw a bullpen session on Wednesday morning, in preparation for his start on Friday.

That game, against the Colorado Rockies, will be the most significant test of his pitching. His first three games were all against mostly minor league competition, two of them in “B” games. Although he’s racked up 16 strikeouts, he’s allowed 10 runs.

ALSO

While major leaguers were responsible for most of the pitches and the at-bats, the Angels covered the field with teams of minor leaguers, including some of their top prospects.

Jo Adell, the team’s top prospect besides Ohtani, played center fielder and got one at-bat, a ground ball against Tropeano.

Kevin Maitan, the touted prospect the Angels signed after he was released from the Atlanta Braves as part of their penalty for international signing violations, played shortstop and struck out on a curve from Skaggs in his only trip.

Brandon Marsh, another top outfield prospect, hit a deep flyout against Skaggs.

Defensively, Livan Soto made a nice play at shortstop. Soto was another player the Braves lost.

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[Chuck]

Great report, @Jeff Fletcher. 

[arch stanton]

He probably hasn't faced too many 6'4 lefties with big curveballs before. Chalk it up to OJT

[Erstad Grit]

[Chuck U Farley]

I predict that by the halfway point of the season, two things are going to happen:

1. The 6 man rotation will be scuttled.  This club might be better served with a 4 man with a bp full of stretched out swingmen anyway -- but that also won't likely happen.

2. The Ohtani two-way experiment will be put on indefinite hold -- unless his pitching proves as hard to watch as his hitting.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

• 
  Keith LawESPN Senior Writer

The first in a series of Keith Law's scouting evaluations from Arizona's spring training action.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- This was not the Shohei Ohtani we were promised.

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Players and teams get in gear for Opening Day in Florida and Arizona.
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Ohtani's third start of spring training failed to live up to expectations -- although the expectations for him have been set so high that it would be hard for any mortal to meet them. But it wasn't the version of the guy I expected to see in my first live look at the Los Angeles Angels right-hander on the mound, as his stuff Friday was a little less than I anticipated and he had trouble with his delivery and command throughout his three-inning stint against the Tijuana Toros of the Mexican League.