2025 Stats
W-L
9-8
ERA
3.73
WHIP
0.99
K
117
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.
Allows two runs in Game 2
Imanaga gave up two earned runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three batters over four relief innings during Wednesday's 3-0 loss to the Padres. He did not factor into the decision.
Analysis
The left-hander entered the game in the second inning after opener Andrew Kittredge allowed the Padres to score a run in the first. Imanaga made it through three frames before conceding a two-run blast to Manny Machado in the fifth, which gave the Padres more insurance than it needed while the Cubs' offense struggled to put a rally together. If Chicago prevails in Thursday's win-or-go-home matchup, Imanaga would likely be in the running to pitch in Game 3 of the NLDS next Wednesday.
The left-hander entered the game in the second inning after opener Andrew Kittredge allowed the Padres to score a run in the first. Imanaga made it through three frames before conceding a two-run blast to Manny Machado in the fifth, which gave the Padres more insurance than it needed while the Cubs' offense struggled to put a rally together. If Chicago prevails in Thursday's win-or-go-home matchup, Imanaga would likely be in the running to pitch in Game 3 of the NLDS next Wednesday.
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
86
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
-9%
BAA vs LHP
2025
-50%
BAA vs LHP
| BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2023vs Left | .208 | 41 | 5 | 30 | 5 | |||
| Since 2023vs Right | .229 | 136 | 25 | 122 | 23 | |||
| 2025vs Left | .143 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2025vs Right | .286 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |||
| 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
-15%
ERA at Home
2025
-24%
ERA on Road
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2023Home | 2.79 | 0.94 | 100.0 | 10.2 | 1.3 | ||||
| Since 2023Away | 3.29 | 1.06 | 150.2 | 7.4 | 1.7 | ||||
| 2025Home | 4.50 | 1.25 | 4.0 | 6.8 | 4.5 | ||||
| 2025Away | 3.44 | 0.98 | 73.1 | 7.4 | 1.5 | ||||
| 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
4.50K/9
7.3BB/9
1.6HR/9
1.9Fastball
90.9 mphERA
3.73WHIP
0.99BABIP
.228GB/FB
0.60Left On Base
81.3%Exit Velocity
83.0 mphBarrels/BBE
8.0%Spin Rate
2097 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
27.8%Swinging Strike
12.4%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
Lit up in loss
Imanaga (9-8) allowed eight runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out three over 5.2 innings to take the loss Thursday versus the Mets.
Analysis
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Settles for no-decision Friday
Imanaga allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits across five innings and did not factor into the decision in Friday's 7-4 loss to the Reds. He walked two and struck out four.
Analysis
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Fans nine, tying season high
Imanaga didn't factor into the decision against the Rays on Sunday, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out nine over five innings.
Analysis
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Another quality start in loss
Imanaga (9-7) took the loss Monday against Atlanta, allowing three runs on five hits and no walks in six innings. He struck out four.
Analysis
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Logs sixth straight quality start
Imanaga (9-6) earned the win Tuesday against Atlanta, allowing three runs on five hits and one walk in six innings. He struck out two.
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.