Shota Imanaga Is Living In The Shadows, Whether You Like It Or Not

In my years of following the great game of baseball, I can scant remember a time that the sport was in better shape than it is now. With an elite collection of generational talents such as Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Tarik Skubal, and Garrett Crochet, baseball fans have a lush of options to keep their passion for the game ignited. If that weren't enough, in the last five years or so, there's been an onslaught of dazzling ball players from the country the Cubs recently visited, Japan. Now residing mainly in Southern California, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki have gobbled up headlines like the business end of a "Hungry Hungry Hippos" game piece. 

These gentlemen do much for fans' return on investment, but might I propose yet another Japanese stud who deserves to walk with the giants because he is one: Shota Imanaga.

Imanaga is a superstar. Full stop. From 2016 to 2023, he played in Nippon Professional Baseball, giving him the unique distinction of being a 30-year-old MLB rookie when he arrived on the North Side of Chicago. From that point on, he's been brilliant. Going 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA, Imanaga's rookie year earned him fewer flowers than he deserved due to his team's failure to make the playoffs. By comparison, Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers has eight career wins and a 2.97 ERA. The largest difference between the two, and it is a big one, is that Yamamoto, along with his fellow countrymen Ohtani and Sasaki, play for the Dodgers, the current Goliaths of baseball. 

Top to bottom, the Los Angeles Dodgers boast an embarrassment of riches at nearly every position. They're a wealthy, big market team that chooses to spend wheelbarrows full of money on whomever they want, creating the perception of a monopolistic team the likes of which hasn't been seen since the early 2000's Yankees. As much as it pains me to admit, the Dodgers are better than the Cubs.

But, as we got to witness in the early morning hours of mid-March, they're not better by much. Led by players like Imanaga, Seiya Suzuki, and Michael Busch, the Cubbies do more with less, and though their offensive prowess seems to come and go, they consistently perform at a competitive level. Yamamoto is developing into an ace-type pitcher, Sasaki is too raw and untamed, and Ohtani... well, he's one of one. 

This is all to say, what Imanaga does on the mound pitching for his club every four to five days is more impressive than his peers. He knows he has to perform and so he does. His control, calm demeanor, and the joyful electricity with which he conducts himself, counts him as a player to be feared by other big leaguers. His role on the team is to be a starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, not the savior of a lackluster rotation, not putting the weight of the team's fortunes on his back. He doesn't feel pressure, he's just a guy who loves food who also happens to be a fantastic starting pitcher.

So what do we do? Is the hype surrounding Imanaga's peers based solely on the fact that they're on more successful teams? Maybe. But I think it stretches beyond that. To raise awareness of Shota's dominance and his sheer presence in the game, it's up to us to help raise his stock. We must embrace him as we have former Cubs greats, whether that manifests as costumes, chants, or special sandwiches at Johnnie's Beef. Imanaga is one of baseball's best and should be treated as such.