Telepeer

Dodgers’ deep lineup offers best lineup protection for Shohei Ohtani

April 17, 2026

LOS ANGELES — Freddie Freeman is a non-believer.

Lineup protection – the idea that the batter on deck can change the way the batter in the box is pitched – is an unsettled concept. Analytic evidence for it has been hard to find. One study that attempted to quantify it found that having a strong hitter behind another increases the likelihood of the first batter seeing a strike on any given pitch by just 0.25% – that amounts to six extra strikes over the course of a season.

“I don’t really believe in it,” Freeman said.

“There was one year, I forget what year, we had Nick Markakis hitting fourth behind me. A guy that’s not going to hit the ball over the fence but still a really good hitter (Markakis batted fourth 157 times for the Atlanta Braves in 2018 and hit just 14 home runs). Then the next year we had I think Marcell (Ozuna), who could hit the ball over the fence, and there was no difference (in the way Freeman was pitched).”

Well, actually – Ozuna batted behind Freeman most of the time with the Braves during the 60-game 2020 season and led the National League in home runs and RBIs. And Freeman won the National League MVP.

Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes sees it as a case-by-case effect, not necessarily something that shows up “over a large sample size.”

“I mean, I don’t know how often it happens. I think it should – dependent on scenario,” Gomes said of one batter affecting the pitching approach to another. “It’s certainly something we try to talk about in player development as a pitcher and the catchers having awareness of the game context, the situation, who’s on deck, is it a better matchup for you. So I think it is and should be a factor. How much and how often is probably dependent on each team and each pitcher-catcher-manager combo.”

If lineup protection is a myth – or at most an occasional factor – hitters can still feel the responsibility of it. Batting behind Shohei Ohtani so far this season, Kyle Tucker has gotten off to a tepid start – through 18 games, he is batting .239 with a .693 OPS. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged recently that Tucker might be struggling with feeling “a little bit” of pressure to produce and get Ohtani more pitches to hit. So far, Ohtani has hit just .254, although he has a .910 OPS thanks to 14 walks, including four intentional passes (tied for the MLB lead) – a sign that teams would rather face Tucker.

“I like walks,” Ohtani said through his interpreter, shrugging off the reluctance of pitchers to challenge him. “I’ll take as many as they give me. If a strike comes, I’ll swing at it.”

Roberts isn’t buying it.

“I think he’s trying to convince himself,” the Dodgers manager joked. “Players like to hit. They like to swing the bat. But he’s smart enough to know that if they’re not going to pitch to him, they’re going to pitch around.”

If they do, Gomes is confident Tucker will eventually take advantage of it.

“I guess that’s the thing. If this were happening in July, I don’t think we would think twice about it,” the GM said. “I think it’s more early-season narratives of we don’t have a whole lot to dive in on. I think this is just too early. If this stretch were to happen in June or July when the baseline numbers are what career numbers are I don’t think we’re worrying about it at all.”

The Dodgers might not have anything to worry about while Tucker finds his footing – because the best lineup protection for a hitter like Ohtani comes from in front of him. If there are runners on base when Ohtani comes up, the opposing pitcher has less flexibility in how to pitch him.

“I think the guys in front, if they’re on base that dictates (how they are going to pitch you) and the guy in the box dictates how they want to pitch you,” Freeman said. “I think it’s situation-based and the guys on base and the guy in the box – if you’re looking at the guy coming up next, then you’re worrying about something you shouldn’t be worrying about.”

Gomes sees Ohtani as somewhat immune to all of these factors – “because of what he’s capable of, I think it’s a little bit more challenging to want to pitch to him more than anyone else,” he said. But having runners on base ahead of the four-time MVP can limit the options of the opposing pitcher.

“It’s helpful (if the bottom of the lineup gets on base ahead of Ohtani) … but I don’t know how much we’ll see behavior change over the course of a year,” Gomes said. “But it gets to the point – if Andy (Pages) and (Alex) Freeland and Miggy (Rojas) and these guys are hitting in front of Shohei it makes it that much more challenging. There’s only so many bases you can put guys on.”

The Dodgers have gotten off to an MLB-best 14-4 start despite Ohtani, Tucker – and Freeman, to an extent – not producing at their normal levels points to the real truth of lineup protection, Gomes said.

“It’s good to have a good lineup,” he said with a wide smile. “If you have a lot of good hitters, that’s better than not having a lot of good hitters.”

Orange County Register

News Details

Dodgers’ deep lineup offers best lineup protection for Shohei Ohtani

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

News

CONTACT INFO

QUICK LINKS

SERVICES

CURRENT NEWS