2026 Stats
W-L
1-1
ERA
2.45
WHIP
0.77
K
31
SV
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
2026 Fantasy Outlook
It was a tale of two halves for Imanaga in 2025. The Japanese lefty posted a 2.65 ERA and 0.93 WHIP across 12 starts before the All-Star break, though he did also miss nearly two months with a hamstring strain. In the second half, he saw his ERA bump up to 4.70 and his WHIP went up to 1.04. Imanaga continued to regress in the playoffs, posting an 8.10 ERA in two postseason starts. Between his 2024 MLB debut and 2025, he also saw his K/9 dip from 9.03 to 7.28. Imanaga remains a talented pitcher, though perhaps Chicago was worried about his declining performance, as the Cubs declined his three-year, $57.75 million team option in early November before the two sides eventually settled on a one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer. Imanaga can still be a positive addition to a big-league roster as well as fantasy teams, but his ceiling might be a bit lower than what he displayed in 2024 and early in 2025. Read Past Outlooks
Signed a one-year, $22.03 million contract with the Cubs in November of 2025.
Delivers another gem
Imanaga (1-1) earned the win, allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out 11 over six innings in Wednesday's victory over the Phillies.
Analysis
Imanaga gave up a leadoff homer to Trea Turner on just the second pitch of the game, but he was nearly untouchable the rest of the way. The left-hander settled in and went on to record multiple strikeouts in five separate innings, overpowering Philadelphia's lineup. His 11 punchouts tied a career high, and he generated an eye-popping 26 whiffs in one of the most dominant starts of his career. Imanaga has looked absolutely fantastic over his last two outings, striking out 20 while allowing just one run across 12 innings. Chicago's ace is slated to face Philadelphia again in his next start, this time back at Wrigley Field.
Imanaga gave up a leadoff homer to Trea Turner on just the second pitch of the game, but he was nearly untouchable the rest of the way. The left-hander settled in and went on to record multiple strikeouts in five separate innings, overpowering Philadelphia's lineup. His 11 punchouts tied a career high, and he generated an eye-popping 26 whiffs in one of the most dominant starts of his career. Imanaga has looked absolutely fantastic over his last two outings, striking out 20 while allowing just one run across 12 innings. Chicago's ace is slated to face Philadelphia again in his next start, this time back at Wrigley Field.
Pitching Stats
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2026 MLB Game Log
2026
2025
2024
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
93
Last 10 Games
93
Last 5 Games
93
How many pitches does Shota Imanaga generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does Shota Imanaga generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2024
-8%
BAA vs LHP
2026
-50%
BAA vs LHP
| BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2024vs Left | .205 | 88 | 17 | 60 | 9 | |||
| Since 2024vs Right | .222 | 234 | 42 | 218 | 51 | |||
| 2026vs Left | .091 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2026vs Right | .182 | 17 | 2 | 10 | 2 | |||
| 2025vs Left | .218 | 34 | 10 | 29 | 4 | |||
| 2025vs Right | .218 | 83 | 16 | 88 | 27 | |||
| 2024vs Left | .212 | 40 | 4 | 29 | 5 | |||
| 2024vs Right | .229 | 134 | 24 | 120 | 22 | |||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | |||||||
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2024
-3%
ERA on Road
2026
-50%
ERA on Road
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2024Home | 3.28 | 0.95 | 178.1 | 9.2 | 1.5 | ||||
| Since 2024Away | 3.17 | 1.04 | 161.2 | 7.7 | 1.7 | ||||
| 2026Home | 3.27 | 0.82 | 11.0 | 13.1 | 2.5 | ||||
| 2026Away | 1.64 | 0.73 | 11.0 | 12.3 | 1.6 | ||||
| 2025Home | 4.04 | 1.00 | 71.1 | 7.2 | 1.8 | ||||
| 2025Away | 3.44 | 0.98 | 73.1 | 7.4 | 1.5 | ||||
| 2024Home | 2.72 | 0.93 | 96.0 | 10.3 | 1.1 | ||||
| 2024Away | 3.14 | 1.14 | 77.1 | 7.4 | 1.9 | ||||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | ||||||||
Stat Review
How does Shota Imanaga compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
6.20K/9
12.7BB/9
2.0HR/9
0.8Fastball
92.2 mphERA
2.45WHIP
0.77BABIP
.244GB/FB
0.48Left On Base
77.5%Exit Velocity
80.7 mphBarrels/BBE
7.1%Spin Rate
2032 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
29.4%Swinging Strike
16.4%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2025
2024
When Imanaga and Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed in MLB last offseason, some considered Imanaga's stuff to be on par with, if not better than, fellow countryman Yamamoto's. However, Imanaga lagged in command while sporting a high home-run rate by Nippon Professional Baseball standards. To address both, the Cubs designed an apparatus to train Imanaga to throw his four-seamer up in the zone. His 1.4 HR/9 was high but palatable. His high riser also helped yield a low .264 BABIP while generating a high 17.6 percent swinging-strike rate. The biggest surprise was a scant 4.0 percent walk rate. A bloated 80.2 percent left on base mark fueled a 2.91 ERA, over half a run below expected. Even so, a mid-threes ERA with a strikeout rate around 25 percent plays in any format. Just don't pay for a repeat of last season's deflated ERA; a correction is likely on the way.
More Fantasy News
Brilliant outing goes to waste
Imanaga came away with a no-decision Friday as the Cubs fell 2-0 to the Pirates, striking out nine and walking one over six scoreless, no-hit innings.
Analysis
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Gets back on track Sunday
Imanaga didn't factor into the decision Sunday against the Guardians, allowing one run on three hits and one walk in five innings. He struck out four.
Analysis
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Cubs-Guardians postponed
Imanaga won't start as scheduled Saturday against the Guardians, as the game was postponed due to rain, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.
Analysis
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Ambushed early in first loss
Imanaga (0-1) took the loss Sunday against the Nationals, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out seven.
Analysis
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May slot into No. 3 role
With Matthew Boyd named Chicago's Opening Day starter, Imanaga could be the team's No. 3 pitcher behind Cade Horton, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.
Analysis
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Option decision looming
The Cubs must decide soon whether to exercise their three-year, $57.75 million option on Imanaga, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports.
Analysis
It seems very likely that the Cubs will pick up the option, though Imanaga's 4.70 second-half ERA and 8.10 ERA in two postseason starts could give the team pause. If the option is declined, Imanaga would have a $15.25 million player option for 2026. In the unlikely event Imanaga exercises that option, the Cubs would then have a two-year, $42.5 million option for 2026-to-2027. Imanaga, 32, has posted a 3.28 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 291:54 K:BB over 318 regular-season innings in his two years with Chicago.
It seems very likely that the Cubs will pick up the option, though Imanaga's 4.70 second-half ERA and 8.10 ERA in two postseason starts could give the team pause. If the option is declined, Imanaga would have a $15.25 million player option for 2026. In the unlikely event Imanaga exercises that option, the Cubs would then have a two-year, $42.5 million option for 2026-to-2027. Imanaga, 32, has posted a 3.28 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 291:54 K:BB over 318 regular-season innings in his two years with Chicago.