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Is it too early to call Shota Imanaga the Cubs’ ace? Well, maybe. He is, after all, just two outings into his MLB career, but he has appeared to be ace material. His start on Sunday against the Dodgers was cut short thanks to a near-three-hour rain delay that ended his afternoon early., but not so early that he did not have time to take in the imposing presence of countryman and Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani.
“When he stood in the box, he was very tall,” Imanaga said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “He has a presence about him and he has a really good swing.”
Not that good, however. The first round of Shota vs. Shohei ended firmly in Imanaga’s favor as the two battled over a nine-pitch at-bat—Ohtani fouled off three two-strike offerings—that ended in a strikeout. Imanaga then got Ohtani to pop out on a harmless fly ball in the third inning.
It was part of a dominant performance over four innings from Imanaga, who backed up a six-inning scoreless start against the Rockies with four scoreless innings against the powerhouse Dodgers. Imanaga has now gone 10 innings in his first two starts, allowing four hits without a run or a walk. He has 12 strikeouts, including the Ohtani K.
Cubs Off to Impressive Start Despite Pitching Injuries
Despite the small sample size, columnist Shakeia Taylor of the Chicago Tribune already has Imanaga down as an ace. “If his first two starts are any indication, Imanaga looks poised to be an ace,” she wrote.
That’s a positive development for the Cubs, who have gotten off to a hot start with the bats and are 6-3 through nine games. Justin Steele, of course, is the Cubs presumptive ace, but he injured his hamstring on Opening Day and is still weeks away from his return. No. 2 starter Jameson Taillon has yet to make his debut, out with a back injury.
They’re second in the National League with 6.44 runs per game, and seventh with an ERA of 4.02—the starters have had an ERA of 3.55. If the Cubs can continue weathering the injury recovery of Steele and get something from the impending return of Taillon, Imanaga could, indeed, emerge as an ace for a team badly in need of one.
Shota Imanaga Will Get Better as He Goes
The good news about Imanaga, too, is that he only figures to get better as he adjusts to playing in the U.S. and working on a five-game schedule, rather than the once-a-week slate he was used to in the Japanese league.
It helps that Imanaga was known as one of the smartest pitchers in Japan, with the nickname, “The Throwing Philosopher,” for his approach to his job.
“I think every pitcher … one of their jobs during a game is to read swings. It’s the catcher’s job, it’s the pitcher’s job, that’s part of game calling. I think Shota’s going to prove to be very good at that,” Counsell said before Sunday’s game, per the Tribune.
“Of course, every hitter is a little newer for him so he doesn’t have a library of information that he’s working on to maybe make those decisions as fast as the next time through the league. But he is going to be skilled at making those adjustments. And I think we will see him do that. And I think he’ll do it in the game even when he kind of goes pitch-to-pitch with the hitter he’s faced.”
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