2024 Stats
W-L
5-0
ERA
0.78
WHIP
0.75
K
35
SV
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
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. Read Past Outlooks
Lasts seven innings in no-decision
Imanaga didn't factor into the decision Tuesday against San Diego, allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk across seven innings. He struck out eight.
ANALYSIS
Imanaga allowed more than five hits for the first time this season and tied his season worst earned run total but it was hardly a disappointing start for the first-year MLB'er, who's arguably been the best starter in baseball. He blanked the Padres through seven innings but allowed an infield single to Luis Arraez then a homer to Jurickson Profar in the eighth before being pulled. Imanaga has fanned seven or more batters in three straight starts and the Cubs are 7-0 when he's on the bump. The lefty is tentatively scheduled to make his next start Tuesday in Atlanta.
Imanaga allowed more than five hits for the first time this season and tied his season worst earned run total but it was hardly a disappointing start for the first-year MLB'er, who's arguably been the best starter in baseball. He blanked the Padres through seven innings but allowed an infield single to Luis Arraez then a homer to Jurickson Profar in the eighth before being pulled. Imanaga has fanned seven or more batters in three straight starts and the Cubs are 7-0 when he's on the bump. The lefty is tentatively scheduled to make his next start Tuesday in Atlanta.
Pitching Stats
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2024
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
85
Last 10 Games
85
Last 5 Games
92
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 2022
-17%
BAA vs RHP
2024
-17%
BAA vs RHP
| BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2022vs Left | .214 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |||
| Since 2022vs Right | .177 | 32 | 5 | 20 | 3 | |||
| 2024vs Left | .214 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2024vs Right | .177 | 32 | 5 | 20 | 3 | |||
| 2023vs Left | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2023vs Right | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2022vs Left | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2022vs Right | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | |||||||
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-69%
ERA on Road
2024
-69%
ERA on Road
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2022Home | 1.57 | 0.74 | 23.0 | 9.8 | 0.4 | ||||
| Since 2022Away | 0.48 | 0.91 | 18.2 | 8.7 | 1.9 | ||||
| 2024Home | 1.57 | 0.74 | 23.0 | 9.8 | 0.4 | ||||
| 2024Away | 0.48 | 0.91 | 18.2 | 8.7 | 1.9 | ||||
| 2023Home | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2023Away | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2022Home | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2022Away | 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
8.75K/9
9.1BB/9
1.0HR/9
0.5Fastball
92.1 mphERA
0.78WHIP
0.75BABIP
.242GB/FB
0.86Left On Base
90.5%Exit Velocity
80.7 mphBarrels/BBE
3.1%Spin Rate
2106 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
21.4%Swinging Strike
14.6%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Named top NL rookie
Imanaga was named the National League Rookie of the Month for March/April on Friday.
ANALYSIS
The Japanese lefty hasn't been impressed by the competition in his first taste of MLB, as he closed out April with a 0.98 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 28:3 K:BB over 27.2 innings. Imanaga then opened May with seven more scoreless frames versus the Mets and improved his record to 5-0,
The Japanese lefty hasn't been impressed by the competition in his first taste of MLB, as he closed out April with a 0.98 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 28:3 K:BB over 27.2 innings. Imanaga then opened May with seven more scoreless frames versus the Mets and improved his record to 5-0,
More Fantasy News
Continues to dominate
Imanaga (5-0) tossed seven scoreless innings to earn the win in Wednesday's 1-0 victory over the Mets. He allowed three hits and a walk, while striking out seven.
ANALYSIS
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Nabs fourth win
Imanaga (4-0) earned the win Friday over the Red Sox, allowing one run on five hits and one walk across 6.1 innings. He struck out seven.
ANALYSIS
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Allows first earned runs of season
Imanaga (3-0) earned the win in Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Marlins. He struck out five and gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits and no walks across six innings.
ANALYSIS
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Still no earned runs given up
Imanaga (2-0) earned the win over Seattle on Saturday, allowing an unearned run on five hits and two walks while striking out four batters over 5.1 innings.
ANALYSIS
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Spotless in rain-shortened start
Imanaga pitched four scoreless innings, allowing two hits while striking out three batters in Sunday's 8-1 win over the Dodgers. He did not factor into the decision.
ANALYSIS
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