Shota Imanaga

27 februari 2025

Uneven spring debut

Imanaga allowed three runs on three hits and a walk across 2.2 innings of work in Wednesday's Cactus League game against the Giants.

Analyse

Imanaga can hang his hat on the six strikeouts, but he otherwise struggled some in his spring debut, with the key damage done on a two-run home run by Casey Schmitt. The Chicago lefty should be just fine heading into the regular season, and he's slated to start the Cubs' first game March 18 against the Dodgers in Tokyo. Imanaga dazzled in his MLB debut last year, posting a 2.91 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 174 strikeouts across 173.1 innings, giving him plenty of momentum in 2025.