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Bat flip earns Rendon ejection; Martinez tossed too

While it's usually wise to disregard Spring Training statistics, both good and bad, performances in the opening weeks of the regular season should not be dismissed as quickly. Although the sample size is still incredibly small, below are some examples of early-season success stories that could be harbingers of what's to come.

Shohei Ohtani, SP/DH, Angels: Questions about Ohtani's readiness for the Majors stemmed from the fact that the 23-year-old went 4-for-32 with 10 strikeouts and no extra-base hits at the plate and posted a 27.00 ERA over two starts during Spring Training. But after simplifying his leg raise, Ohtani broke out with a three-hit performance against Cleveland in his first game at Angel Stadium and followed that up by taking two-time American League Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber deep to the opposite field the next day.