What about the fabled summer slowdown for first-year pitchers? Not so for Chicago Cubs rookie Shota Imanaga, who continues to impress even as the calendar flips to August. What about his most recent effort? He recorded ten strikeouts against the Minnesota Twins, tying his career high established on July 21 against Arizona.
Imanaga combined his good fastball up in the zone with a powerful splitter that had Twins hitters guessing all night. He also threw in some breaking balls to round out his repertoire, which has helped him have one of the best rookie seasons in recent Cubs history.
Imanaga has a 3.06 ERA in 21 starts, totaling 123 1/3 innings. He has demonstrated an impressive ability to attack the zone and limit free passes, which has been a strength of his since his early years in Japan. He has only issued 18 walks to go with his 128 strikeouts, giving him the highest K/BB ratio of any National League starter at 7.11.
The Cubs’ rotation core should be solid for years to come.
Imanaga, along with Justin Steele, who placed fifth in NL Cy Young voting last year, and the dependable Jameson Taillon, create a formidable combination atop Chicago’s rotation for at least the next two years. Rounding out the rotation with a mix of young arms like Ben Brown, Jordan Wicks, Javier Assad, and top prospect Cade Horton is an intriguing idea.
Before Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes made his debut and began tearing through rival lineups every five days, Imanaga appeared to be a legitimate Rookie of the Year contender. But Skenes’ performance has been of a different calibre, and unless he suffers a late-season injury, he will become the first Pirate to win the award since Jason Bay in 2004.
Imanaga’s future looks bright, regardless of what hardware he brings home at the end of the season. He’s seamlessly transitioned from Japan to MLB, and he has the potential to be an all-time free agent bargain, a significant feather in the Cubs front office’s cap, and an ace for many years.
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