Shota Imanaga has been outstanding this season, but he struggled in his first start for the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.
The Chicago Cubs were a surprising destination for Japanese ace Shota Imanaga this offseason. Yoshinobu Yamamoto received the majority of the attention, but the two-time NPB All-Star was also popular among scouts.
The Cubs signed him to a four-year, $53 million deal, which has shown to be a bargain, but he struggled for the first time on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Chicago headed to Milwaukee to play the Brewers in the second series between the two teams this season. Aside from Craig Counsell’s return to face his former team, these games will be vital throughout the season given how close the NL Central battle is.
Fellow rookie Ben Brown was outstanding on Tuesday, and with Imanaga poised to hit the mound, things looked promising.
Unfortunately, the southpaw had the worst start to his brief MLB career.
In 4.1 innings, he gave up eight hits and seven runs, including two home runs, all career highs. He also struck out only one hitter, his lowest total.
However, there is no need to panic because this is only the beginning.
A poor one was sure to happen eventually, especially for a rookie coming over from another league.
His velocity was not particularly troubling during the game, but he did have six whiffs, all of which were on his splitter.
Overall, Imanaga should be alright.
What is the good news? Despite allowing seven earned runs, his ERA now stands at 1.86. It’s not the microscopic 0.84 he started with, but it still ranks third in baseball.
Imanaga has already posted a 3.0 bWAR and is a strong contender for both the NL Rookie of the Year and the NL Cy Young Award.
One terrible start should not scare anyone, but it is noteworthy given how dominant he has been all season, whereas his rookie counterpart, Yamamoto, experienced his troubles earlier.
Expect Imanaga to rebound in his next start as the Cubs fight tooth and nail for the NL Central title.