Shohei Ohtani faces live batters for first time since 2023, then ties MLB lead with 18th homer
Shohei Ohtani faced live batters in a throwing session Sunday afternoon for the first time since his 2023 elbow surgery. Then he did the other thing he's good at, crushing a leadoff homer against the New York Mets.
Facing countryman Kodai Senga, Ohtani cranked the ball 108.2 mph to the second deck at Citi Field, with Statcast projecting the distance at 411 feet. It was Ohtani's 18th homer of the year, tying him with Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber for the MLB lead.
It was also only the second homer Senga had allowed all season.
Shohei Ohtani goes YARD to start the game 💥(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/LVzzJqRQzO
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) May 25, 2025
Prior to the game, Ohtani threw to teammates Hyeseong Kim and Dalton Rushing, in addition to game-planning and communication coach J.T. Watkins. He threw 22 pitches through five at-bats, getting two strikeouts and one walk.
That checked off another important box in his path to returning to pitching and again becoming the two-way superstar who earned a $700 million contract in free agency.
Kim made hard contact twice, including a comebacker to Ohtani, which he fielded on a hop, and a line drive to right field. Seeking assurance, Ohtani asked outfielder Teoscar Hernández if he would have caught the ball.
Shohei Ohtani threw 22 pitches in live BP, facing Hyeseong Kim, Dalton Rushing and game planning coach J.T. Watkins. Here's the end of his first at-bat vs. Kim: pic.twitter.com/Y3UKLFX0QR
— Sonja Chen (@SonjaMChen) May 25, 2025
Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior told reporters that Ohtani mostly threw fastballs at 94-95 mph, but got up to 96-97. He also threw a splitter and a couple of sweepers in what Prior felt was an encouraging session.
"It's a big step getting on a mound, facing hitters," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on Saturday, via the New York Daily News.
Roberts added that the next step would be amping up his velocity while also throwing his slider. Ohtani added breaking pitches during a session for the first time this week.
Dodgers pitchers currently rank 11th in the NL (and 22rd in MLB) with a 4.14 ERA. Starters Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki are all on the injured list, along with relievers Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips and Kirby Yates. So Ohtani being able to contribute will be welcomed. The question is when that will be, and Ohtani isn't yet at the point where doctors, executives and coaches are ready to project any kind of timeline.
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San Francisco Chronicle
21 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Cam Smith's meteoric rise to the majors: A story of dedication and discipline
HOUSTON (AP) — When Cam Smith made his MLB debut on opening day for the Houston Astros, it was the third-fastest that someone had gone from the draft to the majors. Selected 14th overall by the Cubs in last year's draft, Smith played just 32 minor league games, including five at Double-A, before moving to the big leagues. Behind the rookie's meteoric ascent was years of work, preparation and planning coupled with a team working behind the scenes to help him reach the majors in near record time. His mother muses about him being 'too serious.' His hitting coach Aaron Capista says that he's 'built different.' Jason Romano, his longtime adviser and current agent at Excel Sports Management, says that he's unlike anyone he's ever known. Teammate Mauricio Dubon proclaims: 'He's gonna be a big star in the big leagues.' Smith routinely arrives at the ballpark more than six hours before night games, has never had a sip of alcohol and says he hasn't even tried anything with caffeine. 'Everybody's really good at this level,' he explained. 'So, I've got to do something different to get an edge.' 'I don't want to have to rely on anything,' he said. 'I want to keep life as simple as I can." His mother, Stephanie Hocza, encouraged him to let loose in high school and maybe go to a party or two. 'I would tell him he was too serious and he needed to just have a little fun and not just be about baseball,' she said. 'But he really did not take my advice.' Smith, who was part of the trade that sent Kyle Tucker to Chicago, has heated up after a slow start and hit .307 in May to bring his season average entering Tuesday to .255 with three homers, eight doubles and 17 RBIs in 46 games. A performance made more impressive considering the 22-year-old was still playing for Florida State at this time last year. Many in the Astros organization rave about Smith's maturity. That could be traced back to a childhood where he had to grow up fast being raised by a single mother who often worked long hours to keep the family afloat. In middle school, Smith would come home from school and do homework before walking to a grocery store where he'd often buy a sub sandwich for dinner while Hocza worked until 10 p.m. most nights as a cook at a Lake Worth, Florida, bingo hall. 'He had to mature because he had to be responsible for his things,' Hocza said. 'I couldn't be there every night like most parents.' Though it was difficult at the time, Hocza now sees those early days with her son as a blessing. 'The best thing to do for your kids is make them figure it out,' she said. 'It was kind of forced upon him, but he definitely made the most of it and it turned him into who he is.' Baseball wasn't a first love for Smith, but it stuck eventually Smith's grandmother, Pattie Thomas, a lifelong Cubs fan, signed him up for T-ball when he was just 5 years old. The pair often attended spring training and minor league games in Jupiter, Florida. The young Smith was way more into the arcade on the concourse than watching the games. 'It's always funny to talk about how I wasn't too interested and now I do it for a living,' he said. By high school, he'd grown to love the game but still wasn't sure he could make it a career until scouts started coming to his games. 'Then I realized that I can play this for a long time,' he said. His first offer was from Florida Atlantic, and when the longtime Florida State fan got his second offer from the Seminoles, he immediately committed to them. After his freshman season at Florida State, his advisers recognized that he needed help to stop chasing pitches, correct some swing-and-miss issues and adjust his high groundball rate before playing in the Cape Cod League. They knew it was his chance to make an impression with scouts and raise his draft status. To chart his progress, Smith, Capista and Romano met on weekly FaceTime calls where they'd review his at-bats and emphasize the importance of trusting his judgment at the plate. Smith stopped chasing sliders and swinging at weak-contact pitches, and it led to an increase in walks and decrease in strikeouts. He became the top hitter in the league, batting .347 with 14 doubles, four triples, six home runs and 26 RBIs. That propelled him to a great sophomore season where he earned second-team All-America honors and led the Seminoles to the College World Series to help his draft stock rise. A rapid rise through pro ball After being drafted by the Cubs, Smith played 27 games of A ball. It was there that he really heated up, hitting a home run in six consecutive games for Myrtle Beach. That was another boost to his confidence. 'Yeah, 100% because I didn't know I could ever do that,' he said. Capista wasn't surprised at the success Smith was having because of the kind of person he is. 'When you get the response and the feedback of someone like Cam, you quickly learn that he's built different, he's wired different,' Capista said. 'It's so cliche to say you want to be great ... but when you hear it and you get to know someone like Cam, you quickly learn that he means it, and he does the work, he does the stuff in the background that no one sees.' Before spring training Smith visited the Maven Baseball Lab, where they helped him refine his swing path so he could take another step forward. 'I could see a video that my bat was getting pretty flat early before I would go to swing and I'm just glad I had somebody like them to explain it to me,' he said. 'Break it down like: 'Hey, you're dumping the water out of the cup too early. Let's keep that upright a little longer.'' After the trade to Houston, Smith quickly impressed. He hit .342 with four homers and 11 RBIs this spring while navigating the move from third base to right field to make the opening day roster. 'He was not overwhelmed by the spots we put him in,' manager Joe Espada said. 'He's mentally tough. He can deal with the obstacles and ups and downs of a season.' Now that Smith's made it to the majors, he's hoping to inspire others like him to do it. Smith, whose mother is white and father is Black, hopes to get more Black kids involved in the game. 'I didn't really have somebody to look up to or who was able to talk to me about being African American and playing baseball,' he said. 'So, I wanted to be that influence on other young players to inspire them to know that it's possible and to know that they can do it.' He doesn't have a relationship with his father, but he has connected with his paternal grandmother, an aunt and other relatives on that side of the family in recent years. His mother said not knowing a lot about them as a child spurred him to learn more about his culture and who he was. 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USA Today
27 minutes ago
- USA Today
2025 MLB draft prospects: Top college players in NCAA baseball tournament
2025 MLB draft prospects: Top college players in NCAA baseball tournament Show Caption Hide Caption UNC baseball's Gavin Gallaher, Tar Heels talk winning Chapel Hill Regional Following UNC baseball's win vs. Oklahoma in the finale of the Chapel Hill Regional, Gavin Gallaher and the Tar Heels broke down the clincher. Sixteen teams remain in the NCAA baseball tournament, with plenty of high-end talent remaining in contention. Players will have the chance to become household names in the coming weeks, looking to make one last impression before the 2025 MLB Draft on July 13. REQUIRED READING: College baseball tournament super regionals: Ranking the 16 teams left in the field The 2025 class is loaded with college pitchers near the top of the best available board, with LSU's Kade Anderson, Florida State's Jamie Arnold and Tennessee's Liam Doyle all vying for a CWS berth. Oregon State shortstop Aiva Arquette is also among the top projected players in the class, with the 6-foot-5 slugger hoping to lead the Beavers back to the CWS. MLB Pipelines' top two prospects are Stillwater High School's Ethan Holliday, the son of Matt Holliday and brother of former No. 1 overall pick Jackson Holliday, and right-handed pitcher Seth Hernandez, who attends Corona High School in California. Here's a look at the top MLB draft prospects remaining as college baseball prepares for super regional action: Top MLB draft prospects in super regionals Note: This section only includes college players eligible for the MLB draft that are still alive in the NCAA tournament. 1. LHP Kade Anderson, LSU One of a trio of college left-handed pitchers available in 2025, LSU ace Kade Anderson ranks second nationally in strikeouts (156) and fifth in innings pitched (96) this season. The draft-eligible sophomore has a wide arsenal and limits walks, making him a seemingly polished option for MLB teams. Anderson tossed seven shutout innings with 11 strikeouts in his lone Baton Rouge Regional outing and will look to continue his hot streak against West Virginia in the super regionals. 2. LHP Liam Doyle, Tennessee Tennessee left-hander Liam Doyle burst onto the scene as perhaps the best pitcher in college baseball this season after transferring from Ole Miss. Doyle finished the 2024 season with a 5.73 ERA. One of three finalists for the Golden Spikes Award this season, Doyle took his game to a new level with the Vols, with 158 strikeouts in 92 innings heading into super regionals, along with a 2.84 ERA. The SEC Pitcher of the Year in 2025, Doyle will be near the top of the draft boards, alongside Anderson and Jamie Arnold. His best offering is his fastball, which is a 70-grade pitch, according to MLB Pipeline. 3. LHP Jamie Arnold, Florida State Florida State's Jamie Arnold opened the 2025 season as the top-ranked college pitcher, and hasn't done much to change that sentiment with the MLB draft just over a month away. Arnold hasn't been quite as good as he was in 2024 when he finished the season with a 2.98 ERA in 105 2/3 innings, but he has still been one of the top arms in the country. Arnold has a 3.12 ERA with 110 strikeouts in 78 innings this season. Arnold, Anderson and Doyle are all expected to be drafted around the same range of picks, with team preference likely being the differentiating factor between each left-hander pitcher. 4. SS Aiva Arquette, Oregon State The top-ranked college position player in 2025, Oregon State shortstop Aiva Arquette could hear his name called early on due to his unique profile. Arquette stands 6-foot-5 but could potentially stick at shortstop at the pro level. His bat is his top attraction, though, as he's hitting .352 this season with 18 home runs and 65 RBIs for No. 8 Oregon State. The former Washington transfer was drafted in the 18th round out of high school by the Arizona Diamondbacks, which shows he has been on MLB draft radars for a few years now. Arquette is one of the best athletes in the 2025 MLB Draft and could development into a true five-tool player one day. 5. 2B Gavin Kilen, Tennessee Tennessee infielder Gavin Kilen transferred to the Vols from Louisville ahead of the 2025 season, and established himself as one of the best hitters in the SEC. Kilen projects as a contact-over-power hitter as a professional, although he slugged 15 home runs in 2025, six more than his 2024 mark at Louisville. Kilen batted .363 with a .686 slugging percentage in the SEC, which is a feat in itself. Kilen was selected in the 13th round by the Boston Red Sox in the 2022 MLB Draft out of high school, with MLB Pipeline projecting him as a high-floor player that can field and hit for average one day. 6. OF Brendan Summerhill, Arizona Brendan Summerhill stands 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, but hasn't shown a ton of power in the college ranks yet. However, he supplements that with a knack to get on base (.492 OBP in 2025) and strong contact numbers (.370 batting average this season). Summerhill can run and field and could grow into more power with a few tweaks at the next level, although he was already one of the best players in the Cape Cod Summer League prior to the 2025 season. MLB Pipeline compares Summerhill to Jake McCarthy, who has turned into a valuable outfielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks. 7. C Luke Stevenson, North Carolina Luke Stevenson likely could've gone in the top five rounds as a high schooler in 2023, but he opted to attend school at North Carolina. Stevenson is now the consensus top-ranked catcher in the 2025 MLB Draft class and hit for lots of power in 2025. The draft-eligible sophomore hit .254/.422/.555 this season with 18 home runs, and also boasts a strong arm from behind home plate. He adds little-to-no value on the basepaths and will need to cut down on his chase rate in future seasons, however. 8. OF/C Ike Irish, Auburn Ike Irish was a phenomenal hitter in the SEC this season, batting .362 with 18 home runs and 57 RBIs with a whopping .700 slugging percentage. Irish fractured his scapula in March, mostly limiting him to playing in the outfield instead of catcher, his natural position. MLB Pipeline projects Irish to potential develop into an average defender at catcher, but could also stick in a corner outfield spot at the professional level. 9. SS Wehiwa Aloy, Arkansas The SEC Player of the Year in 2025, Aloy is also a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, which is essentially the Heisman Trophy of college baseball. The 6-foot-2 shortstop started his career at Sacramento State in 2022 before transferring to Arkansas, where he developed into one of the top players in college baseball. Aloy is hitting .355 this season with 20 home runs and 64 RBIs, facing some of the nation's top pitchers in the SEC. Aloy has impressive raw power for a middle infielder, and he has the tools to stay at shortstop going forward. 10. 1B/3B Andrew Fischer, Tennessee Another first-year transfer from Ole Miss, Andrew Fischer joined Liam Doyle at Tennessee for the 2025 season. Fischer was an All-SEC second team selection in 2024 with the Rebels after slugging 20 home runs, and followed up that season with a .343 batting average and 24 home runs with the Vols this season. Fischer has mostly played first base this season after starting most of his games at third base at Ole Miss. Fischer can really hit but is going to have to provide a lot of value at the plate to find a role in the MLB. Still, his batting numbers speak to themselves, and he's expected to be a fringe first-round pick in 2025.
New York Times
30 minutes ago
- New York Times
A glimpse into the secrets of the Tigers' Comerica Park ‘smart cage'
DETROIT — Last June, construction workers at Comerica Park were busy during a Tigers road trip. The team was gone for six games. When the club returned, there was a new set of stairs at the far end of the dugout. The stairs lead to a nondescript green door. Almost a mysterious entry point. But like all things with the Tigers these days, there was a specific, targeted purpose. The stairs and the door lead to Detroit's so-called smart cage, a project completed midway through last season as part of the team's multiyear overhaul of the home clubhouse. Advertisement Baseball produces endless numbers and scenarios. Sometimes they make sense. Sometimes they seem inexplicable. Here is one such example: Last season, Tigers utility man Zach McKinstry got only four hits in 30 at-bats against left-handed pitchers. That's a .133 average. This season, McKinstry has 53 at-bats against lefties. He is hitting .358. In home games at Comerica Park, McKinstry has an otherworldly 1.250 OPS in left-on-left plate appearances. How do you explain that? Part of it could be opportunity. Part of it could be McKinstry's approach. Part of it could be the offseason sessions with a pitching machine to replicate lefty spin. But especially here during the season, at least a small part of the answer could lie beyond that green door. New staircase/room in Tigers' dugout that didn't exist in the last homestand. — Evan Woodbery (@evanwoodbery) June 21, 2024 The centerpiece of the Tigers' smart cage is the Trajekt Arc pitching machine. This technology is now used by at least 25 MLB teams. The machine, the brainchild of CEO Joshua Pope, projects an image of a pitcher's delivery and can spit out a replication of a pitcher's full arsenal, mimicking the near-exact release point, spin rate and movement of the pitch. The machines generally cost $15,000 to $20,000 a month as part of a three-year lease. McKinstry is one of the team's most avid users, known to exaggerate or condense his open stance against lefties depending on how he's feeling any given day. 'It think it helps with my timing, just making sure I'm on time with those guys,' McKinstry said. 'It helps with pitch recognition. You get to see the pitch shape before you actually have to face the guy.' For those in the deepest baseball circles, these machines are not new. McKinstry began using one when he was with the Chicago Cubs in 2022. But the machines were finally approved for in-game use before last season, hence the Tigers' construction plans for providing quicker in-game access to the cage. The way the Tigers and other teams use these machines peels back a layer to show how hitters are trying to catch up with the wicked pitching forces that rule today's game. Advertisement Justyn-Henry Malloy, who was optioned to Triple A earlier this week, is known to use the Trajekt daily. Before games. During games. You name it. Malloy hit only .215 in 93 mostly sporadic at-bats this season, but he also came through in several big moments, most notably his May 14 pinch-hit, walk-off single against the Red Sox. With the Trajekt, players can punch in Statcast data for the day's starting pitcher and look at his whole arsenal. Some players do not even take full swings, instead simply tracking and gaining a visual for where, say, a pitcher's slider begins and ends. Others, like Malloy and Andy Ibáñez, hit against the machine as much as they can. During games when Malloy was on the bench, he would retreat to the cage in the middle innings, often simulating at-bats against the opposing team's left-handed relievers. Like many teams, the Tigers load the machine with softer baseballs. This limits the potential for stinging hands, injuries if a ball is fouled off the foot or even broken bats. 'A lot of guys use it just to see the motion, see how a guy's delivery feels out of the stretch,' Malloy said. 'Some guys might have a really funky release. If we're facing a Joe Ryan, guys will want to just be in there because they want to see what that low release looks like from his motion.' There is not necessarily a direct correlation between access to the machine and the Tigers' success at home. The Tigers are 21-8 at Comerica Park but entered Thursday with a higher team OPS on the road (.741 vs. .723). The surface numbers also don't indicate any clear advantage that correlates to the Tigers' propensity for pinch-hitting. Detroit pinch-hitters have a .609 OPS in home games, ranking 17th in the league. It's also worth noting that not all hitters are fans of the machine. Riley Greene said he rarely uses it. Kerry Carpenter steps in against the Trajekt only to see a pitcher he's never faced before. Advertisement 'It's like the guy on the screen is right there, and then he does his windup, and the release is over here,' Carpenter said. 'It's just coming out of a black hole. It's a little weird for me. But some people love it.' Colt Keith, the Tigers' second-year infielder, said he uses the Trajekt every day, standing back and observing pitches for the digital version of the opposing starter. There are specific instances where it can be beneficial, too, like seeing how Guardians reliever Cade Smith's low-spin splitter differs from other splitters around the league. 'It really is different from the game, in my opinion,' Keith said. 'But I like to watch from behind and see the different pitches, the movement. You can still see how his motion is coming out, and you can see a slider, where it goes, does it pop?' Keith is among the players who have benefited from another aspect of the Tigers' smart cage: Force plates. For years, teams have put force plates underneath turf in cages or mounds to measure how players distribute their weight and generate force. The Tigers have had access to such technology since at least 2019. But the technology is still evolving, and so is the way teams apply the data. In simple terms, the plates measure the amount, direction and timing of force hitters put into the ground. That data can explain how hitters transition through their load, stride and swing. This data can help hitters better harness their kinetic chains and unlock greater power or exit velocity. So when Keith was slumping early in the season, he went to the force plates to better understand what was plaguing his swing. After a brutal April, Keith had an .838 OPS in May. 'I went on them to see how much force I was putting out compared to last year,' Keith said. 'It was a little bit lower. So we're trying some things out. I don't think that was a direct solution, but it definitely got us on the right path.' Perhaps just as important as helping iron out a slump, hitters can record their swings on the force plates to create a reference to turn to whenever things are out of whack. They can even compare their swings to others who have stepped on the plates. The Tigers still have a template for Miguel Cabrera's swing. Advertisement 'There's a baseline for good hitters and what they do,' Keith said. 'So you compare yours to them.' The Tigers have an expanded smart cage at their Lakeland spring training facility. There is now a Trajekt machine at Triple-A Toledo. Like most other teams, the Tigers are expanding and optimizing the ways they use technology and data points. 'Here at home, it's nice because you can develop a routine, you can get some visuals, get your normal routine in,' manager A.J. Hinch said. 'The big trick is it's not mobile so you can't do it on the road.' When the Tigers hosted a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants last week, for example, the Trajekt provided a way for hitters to get glimpses at pitchers they may have never seen before. It even exposed one limitation of the Trajekt: It can't fully replicate the delivery of Giants right-hander Tyler Rogers, the submariner whose hand nearly touches the ground as he throws. 'It's hard to get visuals for everybody,' Hinch said. 'But I like that our players are openly talking about their routines being impacted by the expansion and improvements.' Across Major League Baseball, none of this is revolutionary. But consider it a rare glimpse into the Tigers' process behind that green door. And another window that shows how hitters are punching upward in attempt to counter the nastiest pitchers in the league. 'I think it gives us a little more fighting power against pitchers who got a lot of horsepower,' Malloy said. 'I think it's a really nice tool for us to be able to get our work in.' (Top photo of Zach McKinstry:)
