2025 Fantasy Baseball: Shohei Ohtani Profile, Preview, Predictions

Los Angeles Dodgers DH/SP Shohei Ohtani
Los Angeles Dodgers DH/SP Shohei Ohtani / Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images
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Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is the most electrifying player in Major League Baseball so it's no surprise that he's being selected as the top player in high-stakes fantasy baseball drafts. Can he possibly improve on his historic 50-home-run, 50-stolen-base 2024 campaign this in 2025? Or should fantasy owners expect a decrease in production?

1 – Shohei Ohtani (ADP – 1.4)

2025 Shohei Ohtani Hitting Stats Profile
2025 Shohei Ohtani Hitting Stats Profile / Shawn Childs

Over the past four seasons, Ohtani developed into a beast home run hitter (178 over 2,256 at-bats), highlighted by one of the best seasons in baseball history in 2024. He has three MVP awards (2021 – AL, 2023 – AL, and 2024 – NL) while also winning the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2018. Last year, he led the NL in plate appearances (731), runs (134), home runs (54), and RBIs (130) while setting career highs in almost every category.

Ohtani posted an elite contact batting average over the past two seasons (.427 and .416) while continuing to improve his strikeout rate (22.2 – career-best). His walk rate regressed in 2024 (11.1 – 15.2) though he remained in a favorable area. His average hit rate (2.086) has been exceptional in his career (2.041). Ohtani had 99 extra-base hits (50.3% of his hits).

He had three monster months last season – June (.293/26/12/24/3 over 99 at-bats), August (.235/24/12/22/15 over 115 at-bats), and September (.393/27/10/32/16 over 107 at-bats). Ohtani stole 33 bases over the second half, with a high success rate (59-for-63 – 93.7%).

His exit velocity (95.2 mph) and hard-hit rate (60.1) finished second in both categories behind Aaron Judge. Ohtani had a career-low groundball rate (36.0), leading to more flyballs (40.4%) but a slight drop in his HR/FB rate (28.0).

Fantasy Outlook: The Dodgers will pay Ohtani $2 million a season from 2024 to 2033, followed by a 10-year run with $68 million in earnings. The success of his bat almost forces the fantasy market to view him as a hitter going forward. His power is off the charts, and he has 35 consecutive successful steals. With pitching added to his workload, Los Angeles may not let him run as much in 2025. His increase in plate appearances last season, paired with the move to Los Angeles, led to his stats reaching an elite level in five categories. With 600 at-bats, a .300/125/50/120/30 season is a reasonable outcome. Late in the year, a fantasy team gaining an offensive edge will have the ability to rotate on the pitching side. On a side note, Ohtani suffered a late left shoulder injury (labrum) in the World Series that required surgery in early November.

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Shawn Childs
SHAWN CHILDS

With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.