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Shohei Ohtani Given Questionable Pitching Rating in MLB The Show 2025 Video Game

We haven't seen Ohtani pitch since the end of 2023, so does the Los Angeles Dodgers star really deserve a 99-rating on the mound?

Brady Farkas

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) works with Los Angeles Dodgers assistant pitching coach Connor McGuiness (87) during a spring training bullpen session at Camelback Ranch in 2025.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) works with Los Angeles Dodgers assistant pitching coach Connor McGuiness (87) during a spring training bullpen session at Camelback Ranch in 2025. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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File this one away under "it doesn't really matter, but it certainly is curious."

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani was given a 99-rating as a pitcher in the latest release of the MLB The Show video game franchise.

That puts him five points ahead of the next-highest rated pitchers, Tarik Skubal and Chris Sale, who won their respective Cy Young Awards last season.

Now, Ohtani is a very good pitcher, but he hasn't taken the mound since the end of 2023 because of Tommy John surgery, and he won't take the mound again until at least May of this season.

He certainly comes with question marks this season, so I ask, does that really warrant being five points better than Skubal and Sale, who just proved how good they could be over a full season?

While Ohtani won the National League MVP last season based on his work at the plate (54 homers, 59 steals), he is accomplished on the mound. In five seasons as a pitcher, he's gone 38-19 even despite being on some mediocre to bad Angels teams. He has a lifetime ERA of 3.01 and has struck out 608 batters in 481.2 innings.

He's a four-time All-Star who helped carry the Dodgers to the World Series championship in 2024. With Ohtani back in the fold, plus the additions of Roki Sasaki and Blake Snell, the Dodgers are certainly the favorites once again.

They open up the regular season on March 18 with the first of two games in the Toyko Series against the Chicago Cubs.

Related MLB Stories

GIFT EXCHANGE: Shohei Ohtani's wife isn't joining the Dodgers contingent in Tokyo this year, but she made sure to take care of her friends on the trip. CLICK HERE:

GOOD NEWS ON CY YOUNG: Max Scherzer, a multi-time winner of the Cy Young award, has nothing wrong with his thumb and will be ready to go for Opening Day. CLICK HERE:

GRAPHICAL ERROR: Thanks to a TV broadcast mistake, Casey Mize of the Tigers is now apparently throwing 106 MPH. CLICK HERE:

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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