Shota Imanaga Looks Like He is Ready for Opening Day

[Andrew Wright]

We are just 10 short days away from the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs kicking off their two-game, season-opening series in Tokyo. When that does happen, though, it looks like the Cubs' ace will be ready.

Image courtesy of © Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Shota Imanaga will be looking to one-up himself this year, after a phenomenal rookie season. The left-hander went 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA across 173 innings last year. He finished fifth in Cy Young voting and fourth in Rookie of the Year voting, and will now try and build on that—or at least maintain it. That won't be easy, as the league now has a full season's worth of film on him, and he will have to adjust to hitters adjusting to him. His 4.05 ERA in Spring Training may look bad on the surface and inspire some concern, but when diving deep into it, we see that it isn't anything to be concerned about.

Imanaga gave up three runs on three hits over 2 2/3 innings in his first start of the spring against the Giants. Two of those three runs came on a two-run home run from Casey Schmitt. There were two extremely positive things to take away from that first outing. First was the fact that six of the eight outs recorded by Imanaga were strikeouts. Even though he gave up the long ball, the strikeout stuff was still there. Secondly, he was extremely efficient, throwing 26 of his 33 pitches for strikes. Being in the zone that much means you are pitching to contact; hence the three hits given up. 

His second start of the spring was much better, as he went four shutout innings and allowed just two hits while striking out three batters. Admittedly, it was a Padres lineup that did not feature any of Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Luis Arraez, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill or Jake Cronenworth, so he was facing most of the San Diego reserves. Nonetheless, it was a major-league lineup with MLB-caliber players that he made quick and easy work of. 

Imanaga will likely make one more start during the spring, before getting the ball on Opening Day for Chicago. That last spring start will see him stretched out (maybe to five innings) in preparation for the season. If the Cubs can get the same type of season from him in 2025 as they did in 2024, Chicago may very well have its next ace, and their 1-2 punch (with Justin Steele) could be one of the best starting pitching duos in all of baseball.

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