Rain on Monday caused the Los Angeles Dodgers’ game against the New York Mets to be postponed, but Shohei Ohtani still managed to get in some throwing practice as he continues to heal from elbow surgery.

Shohei Ohtani misses pitching, but is he now a better hitter? - Los Angeles Times

Despite the rain, Ohtani was in the visiting team’s bullpen, making pitches prior to the game on Monday being postponed (to be played as part of a doubleheader on Tuesday). Subsequently, he informed reporters that he started throwing last week from 60 feet and achieved a top speed of 80 mph.

“Just gradually extending the range,” Ohtani stated via a translator, as reported by Jorge Castillo of ESPN. “Usually, in that range, between 60 and 70 pitches. Simply keep increasing the pitches and distance, and observe where that leads. It’s the evolution, albeit I’m not really sure how far I’ll go out there.”

Shohei Ohtani Making Great Progress in Throwing Program With Dodgers

Ohtani had surgery in September of last year, so he won’t likely pitch for the Dodgers until the following season. (Both orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache and agent Nez Balelo failed to disclоse whether or not Ohtani underwent a complete Tommy John procedure in 2018.)

But he got a massive 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December, in large part because of his success on the mound.

The Dodgers said that he started throwing in March and might be pitching in practice games by September.

Ohtani finished the previous season with a 10-5 record, a 3.14 ERA, and 167 strikeouts in 132 innings before suffering a ruptured right elbow. He had a 38–19 record, a 3.01 ERA, and 608 strikeouts in 481 2/3 innings (averaging 11.4 per nine frames) over his MLB career.

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Repeating his MVP-caliber play, the two-time American League MVP is leading MLB in batting average (.336), slugging percentage (.621), on-base percentage (1.024), and stolen bases (13), with 17 doubles, 13 home runs, 35 RBI, and 13 stolen bases.

In addition, Ohtani has been managing a damaged hamstring after last week’s pickoff throw. He hasn’t missed any games as a result of the ιnjury.

However, he was also instructed not to overstretch his hamstring, as demonstrated by a triple he Һit on Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds. Ohtani might have scored an inside-the-park home run on the play if he had been able to run at full speed.

Although batting, Ohtani told reporters that his hamstring is “getting better day by day,” but he doesn’t think it’s impeding his swing.211 (8-for-38) during the last ten games.