We're not saying that Shohei Ohtani is Superman, but weĀ areĀ saying he's close. The Los Angeles Angels phenom not only threw the fastest pitch recorded in the season thus far, but he also hit the hardest home run of any player in the Majors through the first four games of the season. Oh, and he did it all in the first inning of the Angels game against the Chicago White Sox.

In summary, Shohei Ohtani appears to be good at baseball.

Before he even threw a pitch or stood in the batter's box, Ohtani began the evening making history, becoming the first player since 1903 to pitch while batting second in a lineup.

His start to the evening's proceedings should alleviate some of the concerns that the organization has had about Ohtani's durability while he tries to maintain his dual-role of pitching and being an everyday hitter.

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Since debuting with the Angels three years ago during the summer of 2018, the Japanese-born star has struggled with an assortment of injuriesā€“including undergoing Tommy John surgeryā€“that has called into question the viability of such a unique role. With Los Angeles desperate to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014, however, and with the squad operating with a shortage of talented starters, the Angels decided to place Ohtani back into the rotation with the hope that he could withstand a full season's workload.

His first full-inning of returns couldn't have come out any better.

Beyond even the radar-breaking heat that he displayed, Angels fans have to be encouraged that Ohtani also demonstrated a willingness to utilize his breaking balls in addition to his deadly fastball, something that hasn't always been the case in the past.

Is it too soon to name Shohei Ohtani our dual Cy Young and MVP Award winners? We are ready to mail in our ballots.

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