Los Angeles Dodgers utility man Tommy Edman seemingly captured Shohei Ohtani’s fascination this week. Impressing the awe-inspiring star takes work, but Edman has found a way to do so. After a home run against the Atlanta Braves, Edman returned his bat to the rack. Ohtani met him there and squeezed Edman’s biceps before retreating with a smirk, according to The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya.
While Tommy Edman doesn’t consider himself a prototypical power hitter, his current tally of five home runs is noteworthy. The switch-hitter has historically shown a significant disparity in performance, batting considerably better from the right side than the left throughout his career.
Refined Swing Propels Tommy Edman to Los Angeles Dodgers Home Run Lead
However, this season has seen a marked improvement from the left side for Edman, as he’s already hit three home runs batting left-handed—matching the home run total of the prodigious Shohei Ohtani. Although this parity in power from the left side is unlikely to persist, Edman’s overall improvements at the plate are undeniably noticeable.
Manager Dave Roberts has also observed this positive trend in Edman’s offensive capabilities, stating, “He is considerably better in the batter’s box batting left-handed.” Edman’s offseason was a productive one, beginning with a swift agreement on a five-year, $74 million contract extension around Thanksgiving.
Following this, he dedicated himself to addressing the inconsistencies that had led to his significant career platoon split. Entering Sunday’s game, Edman’s career OPS (on-base plus slugging) when batting left-handed stood at .693, a considerable difference compared to his .832 OPS from the right side.
However, Edman is now displaying encouraging signs of a more simplified and consistent swing from both sides of the plate. These adjustments were initiated last fall after the Dodgers acquired him from the St. Louis Cardinals in a three-team trade at the deadline.
The coaching staff initially focused on refining Edman’s movement towards the pitcher and addressing his tendency to lean back before driving towards the ball.
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This past winter’s adjustments centered on a different mechanical tweak: encouraging Edman to maintain a more upright posture during his move towards the pitcher, rather than dropping his back shoulder, which had previously forced his swing on an “uphill” trajectory, as hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc described it.
Edman himself has a clear understanding of the benefits of this adjustment, explaining, “When I’m taller, I can have more of a direct path to the pitcher and also with more power behind it as well.” Even before working directly with Edman, the Dodgers’ coaching staff recognized untapped potential in his swing.
As Van Scoyoc elaborated, “We felt like there was a lot, watching him play for years, of things we could do to help him improve. You see a lot of the natural components, the way his hands work, the innate skill set. All that, you put it together, make a few adjustments and knowing what we know about the swing and how it works — like man, if he looked more like (our) guys with what he does, then he’d be better. That’s kind of how it’s played out.” The early returns, including the attention-grabbing biceps squeeze from Shohei Ohtani, suggest these adjustments are indeed unlocking a new level of offensive capability for Tommy Edman.