Breaking down Shohei Ohtani’s impressive 2024 season and key insights, statistics, and 2025 expectations for Dodgers two-way superstar

Shohei Ohtani, in his first year with the LA Dodgers, had a career year at the plate. Thanks to a focus solely on hitting and a much-improved team around him, he set career highs in so many offensive metrics and did something no one else has done in the history of baseball.

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Shohei Ohtani key stats from 2024

Despite being a designated hitter only, Shohei Ohtani is going to be, barring a shocking turn, the 2024 NL MVP. He did this off the strength of a career-high 9.1 fWAR on offense. fWAR takes a hit when players don't play defense at all, but Ohtani was so impressive on offense that it didn't matter.

He also forged the 50/50 club with 54 home runs and 59 steals. He had a career-high with the following metrics:

• .310 batting average
• 9.2 bWAR
• 9.1 fWAR
• 54 home runs
• 59 steals
• 130 RBIs
• 38 doubles
• 197 hits
• 134 runs
• 636 at-bats
• 159 games played

He also recorded a career-high 181 wRC+, which was second-best in all of baseball. He was top two in home runs and steals as well among all MLB hitters. Ohtani also became a World Series champion in 2024.

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Shohei Ohtani's expectations for 2025

With Shohei Ohtani firmly in his prime and finally benefitting from a good team, the temptation is to expect more offensive growth in 2025. This will likely not be the case. He is returning to the mound in 2025 after a year off due to Tommy John surgery, which will severely limit his offensive capabilities.

Because he didn't have to devote so much of his strength and energy to pitching every five days, Ohtani could go all-out on offense. That led to 54 home runs and 59 steals, which won't happen if he spends time on the mound.

Shohei Ohtani won the World Series in 2024 (Getty)

He can, but he might not steal very often if he's also pitching. The injury risk is too great, as seen in the World Series with his left shoulder issues. Ohtani will go back to "only" being a great hitter and a great pitcher instead of a historic hitter next year.

Durability when doing both has been a problem. Ohtani's body broke down, and he had an elbow and oblique injury to close out the 2023 campaign. Look for the Dodgers, who paid him $700 million, to exercise caution here.

They are possibly going to have a wealth of pitchers, so they might be able to use a six-man rotation to alleviate some of the strain, but it won't be enough to let Ohtani run wild.

His stat line in 2025 will likely resemble some of his LA Angels years with a .275 average, 40 home runs, 20 steals, a 3.50 ERA, and a 1.10 WHIP on the mound. That's all insanely good, especially in one player.