'Little bit of Nolan Ryan in Shohei Ohtani' - Ex-Cubs All-Star compares Dodgers superstar's pitching style to legendary Astros ace

Many fans and experts rate Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani as one of the best players in Major League Baseball. While Ohtani has been compared to many MLB legends throughout his career, a former Cubs All-Star recently likened the Japanese baseball star to Nolan Ryan, the Hall-of-Fame pitcher who was an eight-time All-Star and an 11-time strikeout leader during his career.

Mark Prior, an All-Star in 2003, now serves as the Dodgers' bullpen coach. On August 20, Prior appeared on the Dan Patrick Show, and he was asked, "Who does Ohtani remind you of, pitching-wise?" While Prior initially said Ohtani reminds him of no one because no pitcher "hits as much (and) as well as" the Japanese star does, he later spoke about how Ohtani could be compared to Nolan.

"Well, nobody. Because nobody hits as much as well as he does as a pitcher," Prior said. "Though I did see a stat the other day that Fergie Jenkins had, I think thirteen homers as a Cub. So, I guess he had some good power numbers. But, you know, it's a little bit, it's (Ohtani's pitching style) got a little bit of Nolan in him."

While Shohei Ohtani hasn't made much of an impact with his pitching in 2025, the 31-year-old baseball star has been hitting well. Ohtani has accumulated 485 at-bats with an average of .285 and has tallied 120 runs, 44 home runs, and 83 RBIs this season.

Shohei Ohtani exits Colorado Rockies game after getting hit on the thigh

On Wednesday, Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers faced the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. During the fourth inning of the game, Ohtani was hit by a 93.7 mph line drive from Orlando Arciao. The Japanese star completed the inning and even came out to bat in the fifth, but then took no further part in the game.

After the conclusion of the game, the Dodgers player spoke about his injury and said:

"I got hit in the same spot by a pitch, and right now it feels pretty good," Ohtani said. "I'm going to do everything in my ability to make sure it doesn't affect me moving forward."

When asked if he would feature in the series opener against the San Diego Padres on Friday, Ohtani answered:

"That's my intention, just making sure I get my treatment, and the goal is to be back to normal again. ... I think we avoided the worst-case scenario."

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the media that Ohtani suffered a right thigh contusion and that the injury would not require any further investigation through imaging. The reigning NL MVP will miss the series finale against the Rockies.