Many fans and experts rate Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani as one of the best players in Major League Baseball. While Ohtani has been compared to many MLB legends throughout his career, a former Cubs All-Star recently likened the Japanese baseball star to Nolan Ryan, the Hall-of-Fame pitcher who was an eight-time All-Star and an 11-time strikeout leader during his career.
Mark Prior, an All-Star in 2003, now serves as the Dodgers’ bullpen coach. On August 20, Prior appeared on the Dan Patrick Show, and he was asked, “Who does Ohtani reminds him of, pitching-wise. While Prior initially said Ohtani reminds him of no one, he later mentioned he sees a bit of Nolan Ryan in the Dodgers ace.
Prior said:
“Well, nobody. Because nobody hits as much as well as he does as a pitcher. Though I did see a stat the other day that Fergie Jenkins had, I think thirteen homers as a Cub. So, I guess he had some good power numbers. But, you know, it’s a little bit, it’s got a little bit of Nolan in him.”
You can check what Mark Prior said below:
While Shohei Ohtani hasn’t made much of an impact with his pitching in 2025, the 31-year-old baseball star has been hitting well. As of this writing, he has 485 at-bats with an average of .285. He also has 120 runs, 44 home runs, and 83 RBIs.
Shohei Ohtani addressed getting hit during the game against the Colorado Rockies, which forced his exit
On Wednesday, Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers faced the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. During the fourth inning of this match, Ohtani was hit with a 93.7 mph comebacker from Orlando Arcia. This hit forced Ohtani to exit from the game, leaving fans concerned.
After the conclusion of the game, the Dodgers player spoke about his injury and mentioned he was doing better. He also added that he will do all he can so that this does not affect him moving forward. Ohtani said:
“I got hit in the same spot by a pitch, and right now it feels pretty good,” Ohtani said. “I’m going to do everything in my ability to make sure it doesn’t affect me moving forward.”
When asked if he would feature in the series opener against the San Diego Padres on Friday, Ohtani answered:
“That’s my intention, just making sure I get my treatment, and the goal is to be back to normal again. … I think we avoided the worst-case scenario.”
As per Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, Shohei Ohtani suffered a right thigh contusion. The 53-year-old manager also mentioned Ohtani won’t play the final game of the series against Colorado, but also added that Ohtani won’t have to undergo any imaging.
