Something is wrong with Shohei Ohtani’s hitting, and Dodgers are changing plans to try and figure it out originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Shohei Ohtani seems to have left his bat in 2025.
For whatever reason, the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ two-way superstar has scuffled at the plate in a major way this season. He’s been mired in such a slump that the Dodgers have continued to change their usage of him to try to snap him out of it.
Ohtani is hitting .233 so far this season with six home runs. His .767 OPS would be solid for a lot of players, but it’s nowhere near his usual standard.
The Dodgers have begun to have Ohtani focus solely on pitching on the days he takes the mound and not do both things.
This week, they’re actually planning on him sitting out the following day after he pitches, too:
Dave Roberts said Shohei Ohtani won’t hit either Wednesday (his start date on the mound) or Thursday as he continues to scuffle at the plate.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) May 12, 2026
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And one of the top baseball statisticians on social media, @JayHayKid, broke out these declines from last year to this year that are quite concerning:
A look at Shohei Ohtani’s 2026 compared to 2025:
Tied for the 7th-largest drop in wRC+, 6th-largest drop in hard-hit rate, 8th-largest drop in barrel rate, 7th-largest increase in pull rate and the lowest zone swing rate of his career.https://t.co/umBLT6IFEO
— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) May 12, 2026
The combination of those trends is quite fascinating, really.
Ohtani is swinging less at pitches in the zone than he ever has, and when he makes contact, he’s pulling the ball a lot more but hitting it much less hard.
It suggests a swing that has gotten out of rhythm — Ohtani has drifted toward a passive approach, and the loss of his aggression may be the reason he’s no longer attacking pitches and driving them all over the ballpark.
Instead, he falls behind in counts, and then he’s in a rush just to make contact, so he gets out in front and pulls the ball weakly.
A stat is also circulating that Ohtani hasn’t homered while behind in the count in more than 200 plate appearances, and that aligns with the above data. Hitting is hard in any count, but especially when the pitcher has the advantage.
It’s in Ohtani’s best interests to jump on hittable pitches early in counts, but he’s not doing that right now.
And so the Dodgers, and the most talented player to ever step foot on a baseball field, are trying to figure this out. Baseball is better when Ohtani is at his best, and right now he’s simply not there.