Shohei Ohtani is again looking like one of the best pitchers on the planet. Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
May 4, 2026Updated 12:18 pm EDT
Shohei Ohtani’s first full season back on the mound since 2023 is off to a brilliant start — so much so that the Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander was named the best pitcher in the National League for March/April.
Ohtani had not previously earned a monthly honor specifically for his pitching, though he has been Player of the Month six times. The award, announced Monday, reflects the emphasis the two-way star has placed on his work on the mound this season.
The Dodgers have prioritized his pitching over his hitting while they sort out the right balance of two-way play to keep Ohtani healthy.
“His goal is to make every start,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said last week. “And so with that, there has to be some compromise and some openness to kind of read and react.”
An example of this: Twice in Ohtani’s last three starts, he has pitched without taking an at-bat.
However, Roberts expects Ohtani to hit and pitch Tuesday against the Houston Astros.
“This is with the expectation of basically going the entire season and hopefully through a long October,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said last week. “So we’re kind of feeling our way through it. We’re not sure what it will ultimately look like.”
This approach has coincided with some of the best pitching of Ohtani’s career. Now two and a half years removed from a second major elbow surgery, Ohtani’s 0.60 ERA leads all pitchers who have logged at least 30 innings. He has gone six innings in all five of his starts without allowing a home run.
Over 30 innings, Ohtani has already accumulated more Baseball Reference WAR as a pitcher this season (1.3) than he did in 47 innings after his return to the mound last year (1.1).
The four-time MVP has been mired in a slump at the plate that has dropped his OPS to .824. That has put more emphasis on his value on the mound.
In response, he’s performing like one of the best pitchers on the planet.
May 4, 2026
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