Shōta Imanaga’s Debut Offers Preview of Talent, Fastball Fix in Progress

The headline is admittedly a bit off base because Shōta Imanaga doesn’t really need to “fix” his fastball, per se. But as had been theorized prior to him joining the Cubs, and as was displayed Saturday afternoon against the Dodgers, the lefty is going to need to get comfortable throwing the four-seam higher in the zone. Sahadev Sharma has an excellent article about that over at The Athletic, so we’ll go with a distilled take here.

A serious strike-thrower who rarely walks batters — he had no free passes in his Cubs debut — Imanaga threw his fastball low in Japan because the zone is wider and shorter there. But that led to a high number of homers, the biggest knock against him, and figures to be exploited to an even greater degree in MLB. That was the case on Saturday as Andy Pages (Pa-hez) caught a low heater and rode it out for a three-run homer.

“I felt that a difference between Japan and the U.S. is where to throw the fastball,” Imanaga explained through his interpreter. “Today was an 0-1 count, and I should’ve thrown the fastball a little higher, and I missed a little bit.”

That miss accounted for all the scoring against Imanaga, who gave up two singles just ahead of the homer. One of those should have been a fielder’s choice as Nico Hoerner tried to get the lead runner at second rather than going for what presumably would have been an easier out at first. The starter bounced back masterfully from the big fly, striking out the next three Dodgers he faced.

If he can make the adjustment with his fastball location, something that may be more mental than anything, Imanaga should be able to limit those big homer numbers. He’s always going to be a fly-ball pitcher and homers come with the territory, but working higher in the zone could make that high-ride heater an elite offering. Getting out of the dry desert air will help as well, as he’ll get a little more spin and better movement.

Just being more consistent with the fastball is a big key, especially since his splitter — a pitch the Cubs would like him to throw more frequently — can come and go with feel. That should all come with more experience and an increased comfort level with both the American style of play and simply getting used to the cadence of MLB life. These early starts may not tell us much, but Imanaga will really start to show what he’s capable of as the spring wears on.