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Ranma wrote:I don't want to underestimate Angels GM, Billy Eppler, since I'm a fan of his and previously advocated that he be a part of the Dodgers' front office over Josh Byrnes, but I think Anaheim, Texas, and Chicago are in the bottom 3 for Ohtani's consideration. A presentation from one of those 3 teams would have to be head and shoulders better than the other 4 teams and I find that to be unlikely, but I guess you never know since they've made it this far.

wco81 wrote:Wow disclosed that after he picks the Angels?

They haven't signed anything yet have they?

Ranma wrote:Regardless of which team he chooses, whether it is in the AL or NL, he's actually doing himself a disservice by trying to develop both as a hitter and pitcher at the major league level. I've already made known my skepticism of hitters from the KBO and NPB translating their success over to MLB. The exception was Ichiro but a big factor for him was that he was already a polished and accomplished hitter before coming over to the U.S. Of course, being an elite talent helped more than anything else.

The problem is that he has the readily apparent upside to develop into a Cy Young pitcher,but as a hitter, he's just not ready to be a consistently productive bat at this level right now given the holes in his swing. Sure, playing for a team with no immediate expectations to contend will afford him more opportunities, but as you've pointed out more advanced hitters than him have come over from the Pacific Rim and failed to stick with few exceptions.

If Ohtani insists that more at-bats will be the key ingredient to him becoming a successful MLB hitter with sustained success, he's going to be thoroughly disappointed and possibly even risk damaging his potential as a pitcher in pursuing this pie-in-the-sky goal. If he wants a decent chance at actually succeeding in becoming a productive MLB hitter, he'll need to join an organization that will provide him with advanced analytics, instruction, and other developmental support. The Dodgers are at the forefront in making progress in those fields.