Article: In Appreciation of Shota Imanaga's Sterling Chicago Cubs Debut

[RandallPnkFloyd]

Was that good for you? That was really good for me. Like, really good.

During the Chicago Cubs’ home opener against Colorado on Monday, I came to a realization: There's a shortage of players who get me “razzed” about watching baseball on this team’s roster. The Cubs have a handful of solid baseball players, but it’s not as if they have a bunch of dudes for whom I absolutely have to tune in. While I can appreciate the smoothness of the infield defense or idealized efficiency from the starting staff, there isn’t that unquantifiable thing-you-have-to-see-live element that the stars on other rosters may feature.

With the arrival of Shōta Imanaga at Wrigley Field, I think that might've changed.

The Cubs’ most notable signing of the offseason (this side of Cody Bellinger’s return), Imanaga absolutely shoved against a miserable Rockies squad. He finished with six innings, a pair of hits allowed, and nine strikeouts against zero walks. But it wasn’t so much the line itself; it was the intensity and upside Imanaga flashed that have me as enthused about any individual Cub as I’ve been in the last few seasons.

Over the course of his six frames, Imanaga threw 92 pitches, with four pitch types scattered across the total. Of those 92, 56 were fastballs (averaging 92.5 MPH), 24 were splitters, and 10 were sweepers. He mixed in a pair of curveballs, according to the distribution. Against righties, he went fastball 34 times, splitter 22 times, and a singular curve. Lefties saw 22 fastballs, 10 sweepers, a pair of splitters, and a curve.

Here’s the mix itself, for the visual learners:

Imanaga has unique movement working in his favor. His Vertical Approach Angle (VAA) – the angle at which pitches approach the plate – checked in at -4.15 degrees, which would put him well above average. His Induced Vertical Break (IVB) – the upward break from release to home plate, relative to what gravity would have dictated – was 18.6 inches. While these are very much concepts yours truly – and the baseball community at large – is working to get a better grasp on, it’s undeniable that Imanaga excelled in both facets in the home opener. Part of having a guy like him in the mix is not only that “tune in” factor, but the curiosity in expanding an understanding of the game, because he’s bringing about a certain fascination with the art of pitching.

That art was a martial one Monday, as Imanaga deployed a deadly combination of mix and movement against Colorado.

An aside: Interestingly, this helps to showcase a bit of Boston pitching coach Andrew Bailey’s recent remarks on the fastball. Essentially, it boils down to the idea that the fastball is your jab in a boxing match, and needs to be used strategically in setting up the more impactful weapons in a pitcher’s arsenal. It’s not necessarily a new concept, but the metaphor is apt in connecting to what we’ve seen from Imanaga thus far. He doesn’t have top-tier velocity, but he has plus movement. He deployed that moving four-seamer effectively, to the point where the splitter and occasional sweeper were much more devastating than their own raw characteristics would suggest.

Another visual:

We love pitchability--the capacity to not only be able to locate your pitches where you want them, but demonstrate an effective mix in conjunction with varied locations to keep hitters as off-balance as possible. The above is exactly what you’re looking for from someone nicknamed “The Throwing Philosopher.” Generating whiffs and weak fly balls up in the zone with the hard stuff. Inducing whiffs at the bottom with the splitter. The mix was excellent, and showcased exactly what it is that could make him such an effective starter in this year’s group. Of course, we knew about his stuff coming into the year. Reviews and expectations were mixed on his velocity and place in a rotation. But it was the stuff – combined with pitchability – that was so enthralling. And that’s exactly what we got.

There’s a caveat here. On the contact he did surrender on Monday, three of every four batted balls against Imanaga were flies. All of that contact came against fastballs. It’s not surprising, given the intentional deployment of that pitch type in that location. On a cold April day at Wrigley, that’s something you can get away with, but in warmer weather or smaller parks, it's an apparent area of vulnerability. As the season wears on, it’ll be one of his shortcomings to evaluate against his evolution as a Major League pitcher.

Ultimately, though, that's summertime’s problem. It can’t hurt me. For right now, I’m basking in one of the more exciting Cubs starters to come around since… Jake Arrieta’s torrid 2015-16? Again, not that the Cubs’ other starters aren’t of a certain quality, or that I’m declaring him any level of “elite.” But Imanaga’s approach and mix makes me want to invest more intellectually, and that’s possibly the highest compliment I can offer a player.

Now, at the same time, let’s see what he does against (presumably) a formidable opponent in the Dodgers this weekend.

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