Shota Imanaga's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga made an excellent first impression in his regular-season debut, earning the win in a 5-0 game against the Rockies. Imanaga pitched six innings, allowing just two hits and no walks with nine strikeouts. The 30-year-old brought high expectations with him from Japan and delivered on them in his first big-league start. His next scheduled start will be much tougher in a home matchup against the Dodgers. Fantasy managers may be hesitant to trust him, but his clout from Japan and first-start success could justify sending him out for the matchup.

Chicago Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga struck out nine Oakland Athletics hitters as part of a stellar effort in Cactus League action on Thursday. The Japanese import signed a four-year, $53 million deal with the Cubs this winter but wasn't at his best across his first two starts this spring. Imanaga allowed five earned runs across his first two starts and 5 1/3 innings but still managed to strike out 10 in that time. After his nine punchouts in 4 1/3 scoreless innings on Thursday, he has now racked up an eye-popping 19 punchouts against just a pair of walks in 9 2/3 spring frames to this point. He struck out 174 across 148 innings with Yokohama last season and projects for a 24.2% K% and a 3.88 ERA across 26 starts by ATC for the 2024 campaign.

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga allowed three runs and three hits, including one home run, over 2.1 innings of work during his Spring Training debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers last Saturday. On a more positive note, he struck out five batters and did not issue a walk. One of this offseason's most appealing free agent pitchers and the consensus No. 2 pitcher signed from Japan this offseason, behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto Imanaga didn't look perfect by any means during his first outing. However, he flashed impressive control and was quite efficient, tossing just 21 pitches over his two-plus frames. Look for the 30-year-old southpaw to be a key piece of Chicago's rotation this year.

Chicago Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga will make his Cactus League debut on Saturday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cubs signed the Japanese southpaw to a four-year, $53 million deal in the offseason, and the 30-year-old will be locked into a starting rotation spot in Chicago in his first year in the States. Imanaga isn't a hard thrower by any means, but he's crafty and has excellent command of his pitches. In 148 innings in Nippon Professional Baseball last year, he had a nice 2.80 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 174 strikeouts. Imanaga isn't expected to be as dominant with the Cubs in his first season, and how productive he'll be overall could depend on how much he's able to keep the ball out of the air at Wrigley Field. Still, he has excellent stuff and is worth a late-round flier in mixed fantasy leagues for rotation depth.