PHOENIX — Dave Roberts has a good problem. He’s got a rotation full of Number One Starters. And, if this week is any indication, it looks like he’s leaning toward Shohei Ohtani pitching Game One of the Wild Card series in Los Angeles next week.
It would line up perfectly. Shohei could pitch tonight in Phoenix. Then, he would get six days of rest before pitching again next Tuesday. Of course, Dave Roberts could also opt for Blake Snell with five days of rest, or Yoshinobu Yamamato with four (Snell and Yamamoto are scheduled to pitch on Wedneday and Thursday against the Diamondbacks). And, it’s true that the Dodgers have liked to throw Ohtani before an off-day so that he wouldn’t have to DH immediately after a start day. However, there are a number of reasons why pitching Ohtani in Game One of the Wild Card round makes sense.
First, there would be the possibility of preserving Yamamoto until Game One of the NLDS. There’s no doubt that Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been the best and most consistent pitcher on the Dodgers’ staff this year. But if you hold him back, and give Ohtani Game One and Snell Game Two, the Dodgers would be in a great position. If they lose one of the first two games, they would have Yamamoto available to close it out in Game Three next Thursday. Or, best case scenario, they don’t need to use Yamamoto at all and he’s available to pitch Game One in Philadelphia. And, if needed Game Five as well. Yamamoto’s road ERA is amazing this season. On the road, Yoshi is 8-4 with a 2.26 ERA, best in the major leagues. That would be a nice arm to throw at Citizens’ Bank Park.
Second, Ohtani’s on a bit of a roll right now. In his last three starts, he’s thrown 13.2 innings and given up just one earned run. That pencils out to a miniscule 0.66 ERA. That is even better than Yamamoto’s 0.96 over the same time frame. If he keeps it rolling tonight in Arizona, I wouldn’t be surprised if Roberts awards him with the start.
Third, if Ohtani starts Game One, there’s a possibility of piggy-backing him with another starter (Sheehan perhaps) and thus preserving the bullpen entirely for Games Two and Three. Plus, if you threw both of these guys in Game One, they would be available early in the NLDS and could be used at will during that series.
Now, there are some potential downsides to this plan. Would pitching Ohtani in Game One diminish his ability to be an offensive weapon in the series? He has not had the best offensive numbers on days he’s pitched, and there is something to be said for letting Shohei focus on his duties as DH, and maybe keep Shohei the pitcher in your back pocket to use as a reliever as needed.
Shohei himself is open to anything. “I’ve had a lot of conversations with people about different possibilities, and of course that has come up,” he said last week. “As I’ve said before, as a player I want to always be ready to contribute anywhere I’m asked. That could mean pitching, or possibly even playing the outfield. If I were to move to the outfield, I’d also need to be prepared defensively. Whatever the situation is, I want to be ready to handle it.”
I’m not so sure about Shohei as an outfielder. To me that seems a little fanciful at this point in the year. However, if (and it’s a big “if”) the Dodgers do choose to make Ohtani their Game One starter next Tuesday, the domino effect could be very good indeed.
Stay tuned…
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