Pitcher · 2026
Shota Imanaga
- Age
- 33
- B/T
- L/L
- Height
- 5' 10"
- Weight
- 175 lb
- Number
- #18
- Born
- September 1, 1993 in Kitakyushu, Japan
- MLB debut
- April 1, 2024
- Salary, 2026
- $22M
- dbWAR
- 3.8 3 season(s)
- IP
- 132.2
- ERA
- 3.60
- FIP
- 4.38
- K/9
- 8.5
- FIP−
- 105 100 = avg
Shota Imanaga is a starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. In 2026 he struck out 125 batters over 132.2 innings across 23 appearances, 23 of them starts, going 8-9. His ERA of 3.60 was 13.9% lower than the league average of 4.18 — 8th of 14 on his team, and 185th of 467 among MLB pitchers with 20+ innings. Stripping out defence, his 4.38 FIP suggests that his ERA had some help behind him. He missed bats on 28.6% of swings (14.8% of every pitch he threw), walked 5.4% of the batters he faced and struck out 23.5%. His 1.0 dbWAR is built from that FIP rather than runs allowed, so it credits him for what he controls and not for the defence behind him.
League context
Percentile among qualified pitchers, 2026.
Platoon splits
How left- and right-handed hitters fare against him.
| Split | PA | AB | H | HR | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs LHB | 153 | 141 | 29 | 9 | 11 | 42 | .206 | .263 | .440 | .304 | 27.5% |
| vs RHB | 380 | 358 | 87 | 16 | 18 | 83 | .243 | .284 | .416 | .305 | 21.8% |
Pitch sequencing
What Shota Imanaga throws in each count, and what he follows each pitch with. Select any cell for the breakdown.
Select a count to see exactly what Shota Imanaga throws in it.
Pitch arsenal
What he throws, how hard, and how often it misses in 2026.
| Four-Seam Fastball | 849 | 91.7 | 2,499 | 47.0% | 19.8% | |
| Splitter | 677 | 83.0 | 1,125 | 49.0% | 40.4% | |
| Sweeper | 304 | 81.1 | 2,536 | 47.4% | 28.9% | |
| Sinker | 141 | 90.1 | 2,461 | 42.6% | 15.1% | |
| Curveball | 58 | 74.4 | 2,515 | 51.7% | 0.0% | |
| Slider | 45 | 86.5 | 2,481 | 53.3% | 34.6% |
Pitching
Standard and advanced, by season.
| Trend | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 23 | 23 | 132.2 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 116 | 53 | 125 | 29 | 3.60 | 4.38 | 1.09 | 8.5 | 2.0 | 86 | 105 | 1.0 | |
| 2025 | 25 | 25 | 144.2 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 117 | 60 | 117 | 26 | 3.73 | 4.86 | 0.99 | 7.3 | 1.6 | 90 | 117 | 0.3 | |
| 2024 | 29 | 29 | 173.1 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 149 | 56 | 174 | 28 | 2.91 | 3.72 | 1.02 | 9.0 | 1.5 | 71 | 91 | 2.5 |
Head to head
Put Shota Imanaga beside up to three others.
Similar players
Nearest 2026 seasons by command, run prevention and role, on rate statistics rather than totals.
wOBA uses linear weights measured from this season's own play-by-play rather than published constants, and wRC+ is park-adjusted against that same league. dbWAR is our own open implementation — not fWAR or bWAR — and the full derivation, including its simplifications, is on the methodology page.