With the likes of Shohei Ohtani and Nippon Professional Baseball superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto headlining free agency, there is one Japanese Pitcher who is falling under the radar. Older than Ohtani and Yamamoto is left-handed starter, Shota Imanaga.
Last season for the Yokohama DeNA Baystars of the NPB, Imanaga posted a 2.80 ERA to go along with a miniscule 1.5 BB/9 and 1.04 WHIP in 159 IP. His walk and strikeout rates were also elite, as they were better than Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s, showing that he has solid command of his pitches.
Where Imanaga struggles is the long ball, as he gave up 18 home runs this past season for a 1.0 HR/9 ratio. Compared to other Japanese pitchers who have recently entered the MLB like Masahiro Tanaka, Shohei Ohtani, and Kodai Senga, his HR/9 is significantly higher. Most recently, Kodai Senga posted a 0.43 HR/9 in his final season in the NPB, and had a 0.92 HR/9 in his first season - almost double. Given that Imanaga already had a 1.0 HR/9, anything approaching 2.0 HR/9 could be detrimental to his MLB career.
Furthermore, there is injury concern for the lefty, as he already underwent left shoulder surgery in 2020. Given that he is already 30 years old and has a small frame at 5’11 176 lbs, teams will be cautious when negotiating with him.
Nevertheless, while Imanaga is not as elite as Yamamoto or some of the other Japanese pitchers in the MLB, he displayed his capabilities of getting MLB hitters out during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Facing the USA order one time through during the WBC Championship, Imanaga struck out Cedric Mullins and 2022 MVP Paul Goldschmidt, and allowed 1 ER in 2 IP.
With his wealth of experience, Imanaga will be able to stabilize a contending team’s rotation, and provide consistency during the grueling 162 game season.
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