2025 Stats
W-L
5-3
ERA
2.80
WHIP
0.98
K
42
SV
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
2025 Fantasy Outlook
When Imanaga and Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed in MLB last offseason, some considered Imanaga's stuff to be on par with, if not better than, fellow countryman Yamamoto's. However, Imanaga lagged in command while sporting a high home-run rate by Nippon Professional Baseball standards. To address both, the Cubs designed an apparatus to train Imanaga to throw his four-seamer up in the zone. His 1.4 HR/9 was high but palatable. His high riser also helped yield a low .264 BABIP while generating a high 17.6 percent swinging-strike rate. The biggest surprise was a scant 4.0 percent walk rate. A bloated 80.2 percent left on base mark fueled a 2.91 ERA, over half a run below expected. Even so, a mid-threes ERA with a strikeout rate around 25 percent plays in any format. Just don't pay for a repeat of last season's deflated ERA; a correction is likely on the way. Read Past Outlooks
Signed a two-year, $23 million contract with the Cubs in January of 2024. Contract includes three-year, $57 million team option for 2026 through 2028 or $15 million player option for 2026 and $15 million player option for 2027.
Tough-luck loser Tuesday
Imanaga (5-3) allowed two runs on five hits across six innings to take the loss Tuesday against the Twins. He struck out one and did not issue a walk.
Analysis
Imanaga pitched well in his six innings of work, but he departed with the Cubs down 2-0, and then Minnesota tacked on six runs in the eighth in an eventual 8-1 victory. The lefty continued his consistent stretch of strong play, as he's now allowed two runs or fewer in eight of his 11 starts this season, and his ERA is sitting at a tidy 2.80 to go along with a minuscule 0.98 WHIP. About the only negative to his game right now is his 6.2 K/9, which is down from 9.0 in 2024, but the 31-year-old has still been effective at limiting offense. Imanaga will look to keep rolling and get a little more run support in his next outing, which is currently penciled in for Sunday against the Yankees on the road.
Imanaga pitched well in his six innings of work, but he departed with the Cubs down 2-0, and then Minnesota tacked on six runs in the eighth in an eventual 8-1 victory. The lefty continued his consistent stretch of strong play, as he's now allowed two runs or fewer in eight of his 11 starts this season, and his ERA is sitting at a tidy 2.80 to go along with a minuscule 0.98 WHIP. About the only negative to his game right now is his 6.2 K/9, which is down from 9.0 in 2024, but the 31-year-old has still been effective at limiting offense. Imanaga will look to keep rolling and get a little more run support in his next outing, which is currently penciled in for Sunday against the Yankees on the road.
Pitching Stats
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2025 MLB Game Log
2025
2024
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
85
Last 10 Games
86
Last 5 Games
82
How many pitches does Shota Imanaga generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does Shota Imanaga generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2023
-18%
BAA vs LHP
2025
-44%
BAA vs LHP
| BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2023vs Left | .188 | 55 | 9 | 36 | 6 | |||
| Since 2023vs Right | .228 | 161 | 34 | 158 | 31 | |||
| 2025vs Left | .127 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 1 | |||
| 2025vs Right | .225 | 27 | 10 | 38 | 9 | |||
| 2024vs Left | .212 | 40 | 4 | 29 | 5 | |||
| 2024vs Right | .229 | 134 | 24 | 120 | 22 | |||
| 2023vs Left | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2023vs Right | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | |||||||
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2023
-18%
ERA on Road
2025
-71%
ERA on Road
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2023Home | 3.14 | 0.96 | 123.1 | 9.5 | 1.4 | ||||
| Since 2023Away | 2.59 | 1.07 | 111.0 | 7.0 | 1.9 | ||||
| 2025Home | 4.61 | 1.06 | 27.1 | 6.6 | 2.3 | ||||
| 2025Away | 1.34 | 0.92 | 33.2 | 5.9 | 2.1 | ||||
| 2024Home | 2.72 | 0.93 | 96.0 | 10.3 | 1.1 | ||||
| 2024Away | 3.14 | 1.14 | 77.1 | 7.4 | 1.9 | ||||
| 2023Home | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2023Away | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | ||||||||
Stat Review
How does Shota Imanaga compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
2.80K/9
6.2BB/9
2.2HR/9
1.5Fastball
91.0 mphERA
2.80WHIP
0.98BABIP
.212GB/FB
0.56Left On Base
87.0%Exit Velocity
84.0 mphBarrels/BBE
8.1%Spin Rate
2052 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
26.9%Swinging Strike
12.1%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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2024 Fantasy Outlook
Imanaga is a 30-year-old lefthanded starting pitcher who was with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball since 2016. He was posted by his former club and is slated to make his MLB debut this season. Imanaga recorded a 2.80 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 2023, fanning 174 in 148 innings. He throws a four-seam that's been reported between 92- and 94-mph, a slider, curveball, and split-finger changeup. The key to his success is fastball command and the effectiveness of his split-finger offering. Imanaga pitched for Team Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic and was deemed to possess the best Stuff+ by the Athletics Eno Sarris. Imanaga's main concern is he carried a high home run rate, especially relative to some of the other pitchers coming to MLB from Japan. He'll be working in bigger parks, but also facing better hitters. Chances are, Imanaga's ability to keep the ball in the yard will drive his major league success. He's expected to fill a mid-rotation role but shouldn't be expected to make more than 25 or 26 starts as he transitions to his new environment.
More Fantasy News
Stung by long ball Wednesday
Imanaga (5-2) recorded the win Wednesday against the Guardians, giving up three runs on four hits and no walks in 5.1 innings. He struck out four.
Analysis
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Earns win in return
Imanaga (4-2) earned the win against the Cardinals on Thursday, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out three over five scoreless innings.
Analysis
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Activated for Thursday's start
The Cubs activated Imanaga (hamstring) from the 15-day injured list Thursday.
Analysis
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Rejoining rotation Thursday
Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Monday that Imanaga (hamstring) will return from the 15-day injured list to start Thursday in St. Louis, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Analysis
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Making next start in majors
Manager Craig Counsell said Saturday that Imanaga (hamstring) will return from the 15-day injured list to make his next start with the Cubs sometime next week, Vinnie Duber of AllCHGO.com reports.
Analysis
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Could pitch in majors soon
Imanaga, who is working his way back from a hamstring injury, could pitch for the Cubs before the end of June, according to Vinnie Duber of The Chicago Sun-Times.
Analysis
Imanaga pitched four scoreless innings in a rehab game Saturday in Arizona, and the star hurler is expected to make one more start with Triple-A Iowa before a decision is made regarding his return to the big leagues. If the rehab outing goes well, though, Imanaga could return to Chicago, and he'd be in line to pitch in the majors before the end of June as a result.
Imanaga pitched four scoreless innings in a rehab game Saturday in Arizona, and the star hurler is expected to make one more start with Triple-A Iowa before a decision is made regarding his return to the big leagues. If the rehab outing goes well, though, Imanaga could return to Chicago, and he'd be in line to pitch in the majors before the end of June as a result.