Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto Ranked Behind Yankees Duo for MLB's Best

When the Los Angeles Dodgers signed two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani to a record 10-year, $700 million contract before the 2024 season, the move was made for a multitude of reasons. Not only would Ohtani bring his excellence to the field for Los Angeles, but he would help the team land other stars in the process.

And due to the way that his contract was structured, with Ohtani only making $2 million each year and $680 million being deferred, the Dodgers would have money to spend elsewhere.

Well, in the same offseason, Los Angeles brought in Japanese star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, giving them a legitimate ace going forward.

Since the two players have come to the Dodgers, the team has been special, with the organization winning two World Series titles. The two have complemented each other very well in Los Angeles, and they are friends off the field, too.

But due to Ohtani's two-way status, both he and Yamamoto give the Dodgers one of the best one-two punches in a starting rotation in the league. In fact, the Dodgers stars have been ranked second in terms of a starting duo around baseball.

The duo in front of Ohtani and Yamamoto is Max Fried and Cam Schlittler of the New York Yankees. But there are arguments to be made that the Dodgers duo should be ranked first on this list by MLB Network's Mark DeRosa.

DeRo's top 1-2 starting pitcher duos right now:

1. Fried & Schlittler (NYY)
2. Yamamoto & Ohtani (LAD)
3. Sánchez & Wheeler (PHI)
4. Skubal & Valdez (DET)
5. Skenes & Ashcraft (PIT) pic.twitter.com/P2at9XSQl5
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) April 28, 2026

While the Yankees' duo has been very good this season, the Dodgers stars have been better. If looking at just Ohtani alone, he has put together one of the better starts to a season in a long time from a pitcher.

Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto Stats

Overall, the right-handed Ohtani has thrown 30 innings of work, putting up an incredible ERA of 0.60. Ohtani is one of the frontrunners for the National League Cy Young award at this current time.

As for Yamamoto, he has made six starts for Los Angeles, registering an ERA of 2.87 over 37.2 innings. Yamamoto has been good in the majority of his starts this season, picking up where he left off last year.

Max Fried and Cam Schlittler Stats

When looking at Fried, he has been great for the Yankees this season, posting an ERA of 2.09 over seven starts. Fried has helped to carry the load for New York while ace Gerrit Cole recovers from Tommy John surgery.

As for Schlittler, he has been even better over his first seven starts for the Yankees. The breakout postseason star from last year has put up an ERA of 1.51 on the year so far.

Who is the better duo?

Both duos are at the top of the league right now, and each team is happy to have its respective stars leading the way. But simply with numbers, the Dodgers' stars have been a little better to open the 2026 season.

Ohtani's dominance should give the edge to Los Angeles, even if it's ever so slight. But the Yankees' stars can't be overlooked, and if things continue to go this way, we could always see a rematch of the 2024 World Series this year.

If this were to happen, the real test would be answered between the two teams' rotations. And for baseball, this may be the best thing to happen in a long time.

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