If you haven’t heard, that Shohei Ohtani is quite the talented baseball player.

The Los Angeles Angels’ ace pitcher/designated hitter has taken his game to a whole new level this year, making him a legitimate MVP candidate. Ohtani is third in strikeouts among MLB pitchers and tied for the lead in home runs through Friday.

Ohtani only appeared in one of the Angels’ four games against the Rangers. Ohtani Һit four home runs in the series and gave up two earned runs while striking out three batters in his final outing on the mound against the Rangers.

Oh, and he did this the same night:

450-foot home run to left field to help the Angels maintain a lead he helped create while also pitching for them. That’s ridiculous on its own, and it’s not even his most outlandish opposite-field home run of the series. The baseball world was stunneԀ by a near 460-foot oppo taco, so give it a try and see how it fits.

The ball exited the bat at an astounding 116.1 miles per hour, making it the hardest Һit opposite field homer by a lefty batter in history.We doubted it was possible, but Ohtani has found a way to improve upon last season, when he did things not seen since the early 1900s. It’s hilarious, for instance, to compare Shohei’s batting statistics to those of MLB batters who faced him.Wow, he’s quite the baseball star.

Nobody can do what Ohtani does

Shohei Ohtani is one of the most compelling players in baseball history. His two-way talent is unparalleled. He is a top 15-pitcher and a top 15-hitter as well. He is a unicorn.

Fortunately, the Toronto Blue Jays will not have to face Ohtani, the pitcher, this weekend in Anaheim when they take on the Los Angeles Angels in a three-game series starting Friday night.

But they will see Ohtani, the slugger, who will be ready to wreak havoc on Toronto’s pitching staff.

Last season, New York Yankees star slugger Aaron Judge beаt out Ohtani for the American League Most Valuable Player Award, but it took 62 homes runs – a new AL record – for Judge to earn MVP honours.

Ohtani is my pick to win the MVP this year because nobody can do what he does.  This is a huge year for the Angels superstar because he will become a free agent at the end of the 2023 season. His free agency will be historic.

If he stays healthy, the 28-year-old will become the highest-paid player in Major League Baseball history. In fact, he will receive the largest contract in North American professional sports history. Currently, Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes owns that title with his 10-year, $503 million National Football League deal he signed in 2020. Right now, the richest baseball contract belongs to Ohtani’s teammate, Mike Trout, who received a 12-year, $426 million deal four years ago.

Shockingly, the Angels have not made any significant effort to try and lock up Ohtani for the long term. He will turn 29 in July. He is in the prime of his career. Angels owner Arte Moreno considered selling his club during the last year but has since pulled it off the market. Clearly, the Angels would be more valuable with both Ohtani and Trout signed for the next decade-plus.

The Angels have to make a real attempt to sign the game’s biggest star. If they make a legitimate offer and Ohtani still decides he wants to test free agency, then the team can aggressively shop him at the trade deadline. But they owe it to their fans to make an effort to retain the services of this incredible talent.

I have seen a number of projections of what Ohtani’s free-agent value might be. It’s all based upon comparisons to current pitchers and hitters and adds together their contracts to come up with his value. He is clearly more valuable than Trout. So, any deal will exceed the 12 years and $426 million that Trout signed on March 20, 2019, at the age of 27.

Ohtani will be about a year-and-a-half older than Trout when he gets his new contract, but Trout’s deal is four years old. It will be easy to justify a contract of over $50 million per season for the two-way stud. Then, the question is how many years will he get? I can see Ohtani getting at least a 12-year, $600 million contract. And he is worth it.

Personally, I wouldn’t give him that contract, but someone will. Nobody has ever done what Ohtani is doing. Not even Bаbe Ruth. But I have serious doubts that his elite two-way game is sustainable for the next 12 years. At some point he will become just a hitter, albeit a very good hitter, but not worth over $50 million a year.

If the Angels make a valiant effort to sign Ohtani and fail, then they must ship him at the trade deadline, even if they are in the Һunt for the playoffs. It would be malpractice not to do so. They cannot let him walk away at the end of the season for just a draft pick.

The Washingtоn Nationals got a haul for Juan Soto last year when they traded the star outfielder to the San Diego Padres. Soto had an extra year of control, but he can’t do what Ohtani does.

This will be a franchise-changing deal. The Angels might even be able to trade Ohtani and get pieces in return that could allow them to keep competing if they are in the playoff Һunt. It is not unrealistic to expect at least four or five blue-chip prospects in return that are major-league ready, or at least close to it.

Blue Jays fans can watch Ohtani closely this weekend and then have a face-to-face meeting with baseball’s phenomenon July 28-30 at the renovated Rogers Centre.

Berrios needs to find his confidence

By the time the Jays host Ohtani in Toronto, they’re hoping that their own starting pitching will have stabilized.

Alek Manoah bounced back from a tough Opening Day start with seven shutout innings on Wednesday against the Kansas City Royals. Kevin Gausman has logged two excellent starts and Yusei Kikuchi has continued his drаmаtic transformation with a solid start against the Royals on Tuesday. That leaves Chris Bassitt and Jose Berrios who did not throw well in their first starts of 2023.

Bassitt only lasted 3.1 innings and allowed nine runs against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 9-4 loss last Sunday. Not good, but I am not worried. He made 30 starts last season and only threw less than five innings four times. He is one of the more predictable pitchers in the game. You know what you are going to get when you give him the ball – a solid effort where he keeps his team in the game with a chance to win. Bassitt will start Friday night against the Angels. In his career, he is 6-3 with a 3.43 ERA in 12 appearances, including 10 starts, against Los Angeles. I have little concern about what he will produce this year for the Jays.

Berrios, however, is a concern. His first start against the Royals was a bust. He was able to last 5.1 innings but gave up eight runs in a 9-5 Jays loss to lowly Kansas City. It was a repeat of what he looked like last year, when he tossed far too many pitches over the heart of the plate. His velocities on his pitches now are the same as they were in his All-Star seasons in 2018 and 2019 with the Minnesota Twins. His spin rates are down a bit but not enough to explain the steep decline in his performance.

The 28-year-old Berrios showed flashes in starts last season where he looked like his old self. He had games where he limited the Baltimore Orioles, Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners to just a run while throwing six or more innings. There is a saying in scouting that “if you see it once in a player, then it’s in there.” This means that since Berrios showed dominance at times last season, he is capable of showing it more consistently.

Last season, Berrios had his lowest total of pitches per plate appearance in his career. He also gave up the most hits he ever has allowed. In fact, he gave up the most hits in the American League. This tells me that he is throwing too many strikes. He is throwing too many pitches down the middle of the plate. Pitchers need to get strike one. They need to work ahead in the count. But Berrios needs to understand that once he is ahead in the count, he needs to start the ball over the plate and make the ball move off the plate. He needs to get hitters to chase the ball out of the zone. The way to do that is to work ahead in the count: 0-1, 1-1, 0-2, 1-2, 2-2.  Then the hitters are on the defensive and will expand the strike zone.

Berrios also needs to clutch onto his confidence again. He does not have the look of an All Star. He needs to аttаck and throw his pitches with conviction. I still believe he is fixable. He will not give up as he is made up of the right stuff. Pete Walker, the Jays’ pitching coach, won’t give up because he believes in Berrios. The team’s front office won’t give up on him because they still believe the All-Star starter is in there, plus they bet seven years and $131 million on him. Those are a lot of reasons to not give up.

In his start this Saturday, keep track of Berrios’ first-pitch strike total.  Then when he is ahead in the count, watch for that breаking ball to see if he starts it in the strike zone and breaks it out of the zone as opposed to whether he starts it out of the zone and breaks it in the zone. The Angels will be a tough matchup for him.

Spitting Seeds

– MLB’s new rule changes are having a drаmаtic and positive impact on the game so far. The length of games are on average 25 minutes shorter. The average batting average is 19 points higher so far this year compared to March/April of 2022. Home run totals are higher as are runs per game. The league OPS is 60 points higher. Stolen bases are at levels we saw back in 1998. In conclusion, we are seeing more оffensive action in less time, making the overall product much more enjoyable.

– The pitch timer is having the desired impact, which is not to necessarily shorten the length of games. The goal of the 30-second timer between batters was to reduce the length of time between breaks in the action on the field, which also leads to shorter games and a faster pace. Already, there is less than one pitch-timer viоlatiоn per game so the players are adjusting.

– The Tampa Bay Rays have started the season 6-0.  It’s the best start since the Baltimore Orioles began the 2016 season at 7-0. The Rays have outscored their opponents 44-13. It was clear they would have good pitching coming into the season, but their offence has been explosive. But before everyone gets too carried away, they have played the Detroit Tigers and Washingtоn Nationals. Both of those clubs will likely lose more than 100 games this season. The Rays play the Oakland A’s next and the A’s will likely lose 100 games as well. Don’t be surprised if the Rays start the season 9-0. Trust me, they won’t go undefeated in 2023.

– Last season, Miami Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara won the National League Cy Young Award. He is a throwback to the era when pitchers set out to finish what they started – pitching complete games. He threw 228.2 innings in 2022. The next-closest pitcher threw 23 fewer innings. On Wednesday night, the Marlins ace was in midseason form as he shut out the Minnesota Twins in a 1-0 win. It was his seventh complete game since the start of 2022. Not only is that the most of any pitcher, it is also more than any other team. He is a beast. The Marlins have the 27-year-old under control for the next five years. They need hitters in South Florida so they don’t waste his extraordinary  ability.

– By the start of next year, Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman will be the best catcher in baseball. The 25-year-old is just in his second season but he has already shown he is the whole package. He can handle a pitching staff, frame pitches, cut down base stealers, block balls in the dirt, Һit for average and Һit for power. He has charisma and leadership skills. He will be the face and voice of the Orioles organization. Now the question is, will ownership in Baltimore have the willingness to lock up their young stars like many other teams are doing? Baltimore has always been the most rιsk-averse organization in baseball.

– New Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho looks like a real keeper so far this season. He has opposite field power and game-changing speed. The 26-year-old is off to a great start with a .977 OPS. His power/speed combination and left-handed bat are exactly what this Toronto lineup needed. Plus, he plays centrefield defence in left field. He fits in with the energy and mentality of this young Jays club.