Shohei Ohtani Will Be One Player in ESPN Fantasy Baseball

Some fantasy baseball providers are making Ohtani one player, others will split him up as a hitter and pitcher.

ESPN has finally decided how to treat Shohei Ohtani as a fantasy player. 

The Angels’ two-way star will be one player, ESPN announced Wednesday, and fantasy players can choose to start him in a pitcher or DH/utility spot during each scoring period—but not both.

That’s the same strategy that CBS’s fantasy game is using, but Yahoo will split him up as Ohtani the pitcher and Ohtani the hitter. 

In the Yahoo format, Ohtani likely won’t be worth rostering as a hitter. He’s not going to be the everyday DH on days he’s not pitching—that would simply be too taxing for a player already faced with a transition to a new league on a new continent.

If he counts as only one player, though, it could make sense to start him periodically as a hitter. Various projection systems, based on his stats from Japan, foresee him as an above-average hitter this season. 

But the bulk of Ohtani’s value will come as a pitcher. Different projection systems agree that Ohtani will be worth about three WAR, making him one of the 20 or so most valuable pitchers in the majors.