MLB Analyst 'Not Impressed' With Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani as a Pitcher This Year

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani is flourishing in his first full season on the mound since 2023.

Ohtani is sporting a 0.82 ERA across 55 innings of work this season. It's the best mark out of any pitcher in the National League.

Not everyone is impressed with Ohtani's pitching performance, though.

On MLB Network, analyst Rob Parker didn't mince words when discussing the Dodgers two-way star.

"I'm not overly impressed," Parker said.

"Here's the reason why. Look at who he's faced. His opponents are fugazi. I get it, he should dominate. He's only pitched against two teams with a winning record. Even the Padres, which is one of the two teams over .500, they haven't hit. Manny Machado, [Fernando] Tatis, they haven't hit. Look at the teams that he's faced, nobody can hit.

"Everything has to have context. When I look at the nine starts, seven of them have come against Colorado, San Francisco, the bad-hitting Padres."

"I'm not overly impressed."@robparkerMLBbro shares his impressions of Shohei Ohtani's 0.82 ERA, citing the quality of competition as a reason to be turned off despite the good stats. pic.twitter.com/rBRK0s1TEg
— MLB Now (@MLBNow) May 28, 2026

Thus far this season, Ohtani has faced the Cleveland Guardians, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants (twice), Miami Marlins, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies.

There's no question whether Ohtani is a candidate to win the NL Cy Young, but there's a heavy debate as to whether he's considered a favorite. The right-hander doesn't pitch every five days like the typical starter.

Given his workload on the mound and in the lineup, the Dodgers utilize a six-man rotation in order to give Ohtani extra days of rest. That means Ohtani has less starts under his belt than other pitchers in the NL.

While Ohtani's pitching stats are undeniably impressive, there are some like Parker who don't find the right-hander's performance exceptional.

The criticism surrounding the Dodgers two-way star seems to change each year.

In 2025, Ohtani returned to the mound in June and began to ramp up with each start he made. It was essentially spring training for the Dodgers star in terms of pitching. He made his Dodgers pitching debut against the Padres last season and served as an opener for the team.

He started to add an inning with later outings and was pitching six innings by the time the playoffs rolled around. The narrative last season was questioning whether Ohtani should pitch at all given his success at the plate.

Now, the narrative in 2026 has focused on Ohtani's hitting and whether he should continue to do so on days he starts on the mound. Ohtani the hitter is hitting .279 with 10 home runs and 31 runs batted in.

His offensive numbers haven't been as strong and many speculate the full pitching workload as reason for the decline as a hitter. Ohtani currently has an OPS of .908. He hasn't finished a season with an OPS lower than 1.000 since 2022, which ironically was also his last full season as a pitcher.

It seems people always like to criticize Ohtani rather than just appreciate his greatness. This is yet another example.

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