Angels’ Shohei Ohtani hits 100 mph during live BP session

TEMPE, Ariz. — Shohei Ohtani took another step toward showing the promise he flashed when he starred as a two-way player in the first couple months of the 2018 season.

The Angels reported that Ohtani hit 100 mph with his fastball during a 35-pitch live batting practice session Sunday in an empty Tempe Diablo Stadium.

Ohtani has barely pitched since June 2018, when he suffered an elbow injury that led to Tommy John surgery. His two outings in the 2020 season were disappointments, as he lacked command and velocity and got hurt again.

After a winter in which he reworked his entire training regimen, Ohtani has so far given the Angels and their fans reason to be optimistic, at least cautiously. Manager Joe Maddon said Ohtani had hit 95 mph during winter workouts. After throwing 90 mph in his first bullpen session, Ohtani threw 97 in his first live BP session Wednesday and hit triple-digits Saturday.

It is likely Ohtani’s next time facing hitters will be in a Cactus League game, although that date hasn’t been set.

This year, the Angels are going to relax the restrictions that have limited Ohtani’s pitching and hitting workloads. They will have a blank slate, leaving Ohtani and the medical staff to decide what he can handle as they go.

“I really like this approach a lot,” Maddon said Saturday morning. “And I think he’s appreciating it, too. I’m just watching him throwing, watching BP the other day, my God. I know it’s batting practice, but I’m talking from a functional, mechanical perspective, everything he’s doing, the way his body’s working right now, exceeds what I saw last year.”