Shohei Ohtani was not the "Japenese Babe Ruth" everyone was expecting during the Los Angeles Angels' Spring Training down in Tempe, Arizona where the Angels play their spring training games during the month of March. As a pitcher, he had a very lively 27.00 ERA which was a result of giving up nine runs in 2.2 innings pitched. It did not get any better as a hitter either. Ohtani, in 11 games, hit a .125 average with one run batted in. No home runs, no extra-base hits. Circling all the way to present day, none of that matters for two reasons. The first reason being, it is spring training.

The second reason being Ohtani has already made Major League Baseball fans forget about spring training with his start to the regular season.

Ohtani made fans forget about spring training fast

In the first week of MLB's return, you could say the Angels are having a good week. As it stands on Monday, the Angles are 13-3. They are 4-2 at home and an astonishing 9-1 on the road. Ohtani has gotten time at the plate and has also worked semi-regularly in the Angels rotation. He's had two starts, both against the Oakland Athletics. His first start was quality work. Ohtani worked six innings giving up three runs and racking six strikeouts on the way to his first win in the MLB. His second start was his most notable to date as he three over six perfect innings on the way to a seven-inning performance where he only allowed one hit and struck out 12 Oakland players.

Batters are only hitting .093 against Ohtani.

According to MLB.com, Ohtani is the 14th MLB player in history to strike out at least 12 batters in one of his first two career starts. Washington Nationals' starter Stephen Strasburg most recently did it when he struck out 14 batters in his Major League debut in 2012.

Ohtani has been securely dominant on the mound for the Angels, while also working as a designated hitter on most days.

Ohtani could not ask for better days at the plate

As of Monday, the Japenese phenom has eight games as a designated hitter for the Angels. In 33 plate appearances, Ohtani has five extra-base hits, three of which are home runs. He actually had a home run in three consecutive games going back to the last two games against the Cleveland Indians in a season-opening series at home for the Angles.

As well he hit another against the Athletics, the team he has dominated while being a pitcher.

With Ohtani hitting close to .400 right now, and obviously with what we already know about his pitching performances, is it too early to count his name as a bold prediction to win this year's American League Most Valuable Player? It probably is.

Though Ohtani is vital in raising the Angles in the power rankings, he will lose some games in the future, and he will have games where he strikes out three times and does not hit the ball out of the infield. But that is okay because we know baseball players are human too, right?
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