Shota Imanaga Leads Cubdom in Thrills Above Replacement

[RandallPnkFloyd]

The Cubs' newest starting pitcher has been a scintillating success so far in MLB. But what's made him so special isn't even the value he's produced; it's the magic within him to stir fans' blood.

Image courtesy of © Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Shōta Imanaga is reviving me.

As a non-impartial observer, it’s extremely easy to become jaded about the Chicago Cubs. Juxtaposed against their fellow big-market teams, the Cubs' lackluster results and passive roster construction make it a short trip to Cynical City. And yet, the rookie pitcher is rapidly helping to soothe such a mindset.

The quantifiable stuff is obvious. He’s been objectively great across his first nine starts. A 0.84 ERA, a 27.8 K% against a mere 4.3 BB%, and an 8-1 record for the team are causes for celebration. He has not only surpassed expectations, but cemented himself as one of the game’s elite starting pitchers. To have no qualms about throwing around the ‘E’ word this early in his career says it all about his statistical performance.

But the magic of Imanaga lies in the unquantifiable things around the actual performance--the things you don’t necessarily put down on the stat sheet, but you can see. You can feel them, even as someone well outside of the actual organization. It's his pitching philosophy manifesting as pitch mix from a conceptual standpoint. It's the emotion he demonstrates on the mound. It's his love of Dunkin' lattes. All of these work together to render Imanaga one of the more exciting players we’ve seen on the North Side, after the doldrums of the last handful of seasons. 

In a world of absolute gas from the pitcher’s mound, with pitchers physically destroying themselves in pursuit of more velocity, it’s legitimately refreshing to watch something like Imanaga’s approach. The level of confidence and intention there. Using a lower-90s fastball in setting up the devastating splitter. Of course, that should hardly be a surprise from someone nicknamed the “Throwing Philosopher.” The leaving of his self-authored “pitching bible” on the desk of Jed Hoyer was an early entrant into the Imanaga lore. There are pitchers who approach with means beyond velocity, but the paradoxically excitable and cerebral nature of Imanaga makes him a remarkable arm to watch each time out.

The Cubs are, generally, a team short on big, public-facing personalities. Imanaga fills that gap in two ways. The first is with his genuine display of emotion on the field. We saw it against Pittsburgh. We saw it against San Diego. With the struggles (and now the absence) of Adbert Alzolay, we haven’t gotten quite the injection of emotion from Cubs pitchers in big moments. It makes sense, given the subtle personalities involved. But Shōta’s willingness to display such emotion stirs joy.

The other is in his ability to drop a banger quote at any possible moment. Whether it’s quoting Steve Goodman at the introductory presser, citing Spider-Man as a means of establishing landmarks in New York, using the Wrigley Field crowd as his alarm, or acknowledging the sure frustration out of the Dunkin Donuts baristas, he’s allowing actual personality to shine through. We don’t get that much from these Cubs. Sure, Dansby Swanson and Ian Happ talk a lot on multiple platforms. But you’re not really getting anything more than stoic, generic insight. 

Because of his quotable nature, we’ve even heard a few that have gotten buried in the depths of the internet. He noted reaching a flow state during starts, speaking to his confidence. He’s mentioned not feeling like an established arm until he’s faced everyone. These are good things; they bespeak an awareness and the overall intellectual element that Shōta brings to the mix.

And as someone with my tastes, this is what I’m here for. I want fun. I want to think. The incredible thing about Shota Imanaga is that he allows me to do both--even encourages me to. The Cubs haven’t had an arm so unique in recent memory. Sure, they’ve had good pitchers. But what Imanaga brings is beyond good. He has confidence and swagger, but the kind that you can tell is born of intensity, rather than ego. He’s thinking constantly, though not in any cumbersome manner. It’s one that seeks to benefit his persona and his skill set. We should all strive to live in such a headspace.

It boils down to what Shōta said in his introductory press conference, in which he invoked Steve Goodman. Because when he’s on the mound, we certainly relax a bit, thinking that the Cubs are, indeed, going to win today.

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[Billy62]

If you are a Cubs fan how could you not love this guy? He is absolutely dominant with rookie numbers that even slightly surpass Fernando Valenzuela. Definitely happy to see him in a cub uniform.