After the 2023 NPB season ended, Shota Imanaga of the Yokohama DeNA BayStars announced his challenge to join Major League Baseball using the Japanese posting system. Finally, on January 11, 2024, Shota Imanaga signed a 4-year contract worth $53 million with the MLB’s Chicago Cubs, marking the beginning of his MLB journey.

As of now, Shota Imanaga has started 4 games in the major leagues, pitching 21 1/3 innings with an excellent record of 3 wins and no losses, and an ERA of 0.84. In these 21 1/3 innings, he has struck out 21 batters and issued only 2 walks.

This article will analyze Shota Imanaga’s detailed pitching aspects, divided into 6 sections:
1️⃣ Analysis of Shota Imanaga’s pitching types
2️⃣ Analysis of Shota Imanaga’s pitch trajectories
3️⃣ Advantages that Shota Imanaga could utilize more
4️⃣ Potential weaknesses that Shota Imanaga needs to improve
5️⃣ Comparison of Shota Imanaga’s current performance in MLB with his time in NPB
6️⃣ Summary

This piece will cover sections 1️⃣ – 2️⃣, and sections 3️⃣ – 6️⃣ will be discussed in the following article.

1️⃣ Analysis of Shota Imanaga’s Pitching Types

(Pitching Style)

Shota Imanaga pitches from a three-quarters arm angle, a common style among most pitchers as it tends to be less stressful on the shoulder, thereby enhancing a pitcher’s stamina.

In the last two years (2022-2023) of Japanese professional baseball, Imanaga averaged nearly 7 1/3 innings per game with an ERA consistently below 3.00, demonstrating his substantial endurance.

(Control Performance)

Shota Imanaga has shown excellent control over his pitches. Throughout his 8-year career in NPB, his K/BB ratio was an impressive 3.65, with the last three years exceeding 4.00. This control has contributed to his excellent WHIP (Walks plus Hits per Inning Pitched).

In his first four MLB starts, covering 21 1/3 innings, Imanaga has maintained this control, striking out 21 batters with only 2 walks, key to his stellar statistics.

(Batting Against Imanaga)

Shota Imanaga is a fly ball pitcher. His current fly ball to ground ball ratio in MLB is 0.66, with a high fly ball percentage of 49.2% and a ground ball percentage of only 32.2%. One challenge for Imanaga is his high rate of solid contact by batters at 50.8%, which is significantly higher than the league average of 36.3%. Adjusting this will be crucial moving forward.

(Performance Against Lefties and Righties)

Imanaga has been effective against both left-handed and right-handed batters in MLB, with an overall batting average against of just .175. Notably, as a left-handed pitcher, he has better stats against right-handed batters (.172) compared to left-handed batters (.182).

(Imanaga’s First MLB Runs Allowed)

Imanaga’s transition to MLB has been remarkably smooth, with 15 1/3 scoreless innings in his first three games and an ERA of 0. His first earned runs came in his fourth start against the Miami Marlins when Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit an RBI single followed by a solo home run by Josh Bell, although the Cubs later rallied to give Imanaga a win.

2️⃣ Analysis of Shota Imanaga’s Pitch Trajectories

(All Pitch Types & Usage in MLB)

Shota Imanaga utilizes four main types of pitches in MLB: a four-seam fastball, a split-finger fastball, a slider, and a curveball.

His four-seam fastball is his most frequent pitch, accounting for 63% of his throws. His split-finger fastball, used about 25% of the time, serves as his primary secondary pitch. The slider and curveball are less commonly used, making up 8% and 4% of his pitches, respectively.

(Four-Seam Fastball Performance)

Although Imanaga’s four-seam fastball isn’t particularly fast, averaging 92.4 mph, its effectiveness is evident with a batting average against of only .115 and a wOBA of .155. This effectiveness is likely due to its high spin rate of 2409 rpm, placing it among the league’s best.

(Split-Finger Fastball Performance)

The split-finger fastball, with a drop of 32.5 inches and used primarily against left-handed

batters, has a 51.2% whiff rate, indicating its effectiveness as a strikeout pitch.

(Slider Performance)

Used mainly against left-handers, Imanaga’s slider has not been as effective, with a high batting average against of .429, possibly due to its lower spin rate.

(Curveball Performance)

Imanaga’s curveball is infrequently used, but serves well for velocity change, providing strategic variation in his pitching.

This analysis will continue in the next article, covering Imanaga’s strengths, areas for improvement, and a comparison of his performances in MLB and NPB, along with a summary.

Sources:

• Taiwan Baseball Wiki
• Baseball Reference
• Wikipedia
• Fangraphs
• Baseball Savant
• Sportsnavi