2026 Stats
W-L
4-6
ERA
4.74
WHIP
1.08
K
74
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.
Tagged for four homers Thursday
Imanaga allowed six runs on six hits and one walk while striking out five batters over six-plus innings in a no-decision against the Athletics on Thursday.
Analysis
Imanaga came into Thursday having lost each of his past four starts, and while that streak ended due to a late Chicago comeback, the lefty hurler didn't exactly bust out of his slump. The A's got to Imanaga for four long balls, including back-to-back homers to begin the seventh inning before the Cubs ace was given the hook. Imanaga has struggled mightily with keeping the ball in the park of late, as he's surrendered 12 home runs across his past four starts spanning 21.2 frames. For context, prior to that four-game stretch, he had served up just five homers across 54.1 innings. It may be difficult for Imanaga to keep the ball in the park in his next outing, as he's lined up for a road tilt in the Denver altitude against the Rockies.
Imanaga came into Thursday having lost each of his past four starts, and while that streak ended due to a late Chicago comeback, the lefty hurler didn't exactly bust out of his slump. The A's got to Imanaga for four long balls, including back-to-back homers to begin the seventh inning before the Cubs ace was given the hook. Imanaga has struggled mightily with keeping the ball in the park of late, as he's surrendered 12 home runs across his past four starts spanning 21.2 frames. For context, prior to that four-game stretch, he had served up just five homers across 54.1 innings. It may be difficult for Imanaga to keep the ball in the park in his next outing, as he's lined up for a road tilt in the Denver altitude against the Rockies.
Pitching Stats
Loading Pitching Stats...
2026 MLB Game Log
2026
2025
2024
Minor League Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Loading Minor League Pitching Game Log...
Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
90
Last 10 Games
90
Last 5 Games
86
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
-4%
BAA vs LHP
2026
-3%
BAA vs LHP
| BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2024vs Left | .215 | 101 | 21 | 76 | 14 | |||
| Since 2024vs Right | .224 | 264 | 52 | 253 | 61 | |||
| 2026vs Left | .217 | 27 | 7 | 18 | 5 | |||
| 2026vs Right | .223 | 47 | 12 | 45 | 12 | |||
| 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
-8%
ERA on Road
2026
-20%
ERA on Road
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2024Home | 3.69 | 1.00 | 214.2 | 8.9 | 1.6 | ||||
| Since 2024Away | 3.41 | 1.05 | 179.1 | 7.7 | 1.7 | ||||
| 2026Home | 5.13 | 1.14 | 47.1 | 8.6 | 2.5 | ||||
| 2026Away | 4.08 | 0.98 | 28.2 | 9.1 | 1.9 | ||||
| 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
3.89K/9
8.8BB/9
2.3HR/9
2.0Fastball
91.9 mphERA
4.74WHIP
1.08BABIP
.247GB/FB
0.92Left On Base
70.4%Exit Velocity
82.6 mphBarrels/BBE
7.4%Spin Rate
1983 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
27.5%Swinging Strike
14.7%Advanced Pitching Stats
Loading Advanced Pitching Stats...
Defensive Stats
Loading MLB Defensive Stats...
Stats Vs Today's Lineup
Want more matchup stats?
Loading Matchup Stats...
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Subscribe Now
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
Suffers fourth straight loss
Imanaga (4-6) took the loss against the Cardinals on Friday, allowing five runs on five hits and one walk with two strikeouts over 5.1 innings.
Analysis
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Roughed up by Houston
Imanaga (4-5) took the loss against the Astros on Sunday, allowing seven runs on seven hits (three homers) and one walk while striking out six across six innings.
Analysis
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Mauled by Milwaukee
Imanaga (4-4) took the loss against the Brewers on Monday, allowing eight runs on nine hits and three walks while striking out two batters over 4.1 innings.
Analysis
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Tough-luck loss vs. Atlanta
Imanaga (4-3) took the loss against Atlanta on Wednesday, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out six across seven innings. He did not issue a walk.
Analysis
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Strikes out 10 in win
Imanaga (4-2) earned the win Thursday over the Reds, allowing a run on six hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out 10.
Analysis
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
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.