Los Angeles Angels: Shohei Ohtani’s struggles should not be alarming

The Los Angeles Angels made one of the biggest moves of a very slow offseason when they signed Japan’s two-way star Shohei Ohtani. However, Ohtani is off to a rough start this spring.

After signing one of the most intriguing international stars of the past decade, the Los Angeles Angels knew the talent they acquired in Shohei Ohtani. Over in Japan, Ohtani proved that he could not only pitch but hit too. He garnered the nickname “Japan’s Babe Ruth” because of his talent both hitting and pitching.

However, playing in Japan and America aren’t nearly the same. But Ohtani entered Spring Training with the Angels with many holding high expectations for the 23-year-old. Angels’ manager Mike Scioscia made it clear that the team planned to use Ohtani both as a starting pitcher and a DH throughout the season.

Now, two weeks into Spring Training, Ohtani has struggled both at the plate and on the mound. An adjustment period is apparently in the works for Ohtani.

But this hasn’t stopped people from questioning whether Ohtani can make it in MLB. Although, two weeks is far too early to make any judgments on how a player will turn out to be. Ohtani is not only getting adjusted to a new country and culture but a new league as well.

Let’s look a little bit further into Ohtani’s tough start to the spring both with the bat and from the mound. And also why his early struggles are no big deal.