Shohei Ohtani is scorching hot in leadoff spot

Shohei Ohtani.

When Mookie Betts was hit in the left hand with a 98 mph fastball on June 16, a vacancy was left in the leadoff spot and it was essentially a coin flip as to who could fill it.

The Los Angeles Times posted an article arguing that Freddie Freeman should hit leadoff over Shohei Ohtani. The Dodgers chose instead to hit Ohtani first and the decision immediately paid off.

In his first game in the leadoff role, Ohtani had a three-hit game with two doubles against the Colorado Rockies. Ohtani had a .444 batting average in the four-game series with two home runs.

Ohtani then played in his first freeway series during the regular season as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The former Angel made his old team miss him even more by blasting a home run in both games of the series and having a .667 on-base percentage.

His monster series against the Rockies and Angels propelled him to his second National League Player of the Week award this season.

Ohtani kept his hot streak rolling into this week against the Chicago White Sox. He blasted two more homers in the series, pushing his National League-leading total to 25.

The two-time MVP also broke a Dodgers record for most consecutive games with an RBI by knocking in a run in 10 straight. There have been a few Dodgers to get an RBI in nine-straight games, including Hall-of-Fame catcher Roy Campanella.

In the nine games since moving to the leadoff spot, Ohtani is slashing an absurd .424/.546/1.061 with six home runs.

The Dodgers will have a very tough decision to make when Betts comes back from his injury.

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