Shohei Ohtani's 1 major weakness might not even matter

Shohei Ohtani's month of July has looked quite similar to the rest of the year. The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar has continued to hit, hit for power, and steal bases on his way to what could be his first National League MVP award by season's end.

There is one element of his game, however, that stands out in the rare 'shortcomings' department this month: strikeouts.

Ohtani has never been a hitter immune from the punchout. He has a career K% of 25.7 and has approached a rate of 30 in prior seasons. While he's gradually cut down over the last couple years, we know that element of his game still exists. At the same time, the jump in strikeouts this month has been noticeable.

Ohtani's K% for July sits at 30.9. For context, his highest month prior was in June, when he sat at just 21.3. He's had six multi-strikeout games this month, including three games in which he punched out three times. Among 186 qualifying players for the month, Ohtani's K rate is one of the 25 highest.

The cause for the spike is difficult to pinpoint, though there is at least one potential explanation. Within the rising rate , Ohtani is whiffing at far more breaking pitches despite seeing less of them overall. He's also chasing that pitch type at his highest rate for any month this year. In July, his chase-and-whiff percentage is up at 83 against breaking pitches.

It's a simple explanation, but the one that seems the most obvious at this point. Ohtani's career is full of stretches like this. He chases a particular pitch type one month and then a different one the next. Adjustments are made and he turns that shortcoming into a strength by notching his highest HardHit% against that type the following month. The mark of a genuinely elite hitter.

As such, there's no reason to be concerned about the jump in strikeout rate. Especially because as far as Shohei Ohtani is concerned, the rate itself probably doesn't matter. He's still hitting .310 for the month. His isolated slugging is at .345. He's walking at a 13.2 percent clip and reaching base at a .412 figure overall.

Given how dominant he's been at the plate for much of his career, there's always been a certain mystique around Shohei Ohtani. The fact that he can strike out at an abnormal rate and have it matter to almost zero extent simply adds another layer.