Shota Imanaga — 2026 Season
2026 Season Stats
2026 Season Highlights
As of 7/15, Shota Imanaga remains a fixture in the Cubs' starting rotation, though he has been navigating a tougher stretch this season. Command has wavered at times, making it harder to convert starts into wins, but his ability to miss bats remains a clear strength. His continued presence in the rotation reflects the trust the club has placed in him. He is expected to keep taking the ball as a regular starter going forward.
Shota Imanaga joined the Cubs in 2024 and quickly established himself as a dependable starter with his sharp slider and crafty pitch sequencing. His 2025 season was interrupted by injury, limiting him to 25 starts (9-8, 3.73 ERA). After becoming a free agent, he accepted the Cubs' qualifying offer (~$22 million) to return for 2026, aiming to bounce back to full strength. A 2023 WBC champion with Japan.
- 1Imanaga has continued to hold a rotation spot this season, though his win-loss results have suffered and he has struggled at times to prevent runs.
- 2He was named to NPB's Best Nine and was part of Japan's championship roster at the 2023 World Baseball Classic; since joining the Cubs in 2024, he has established himself as a regular in their starting rotation.
- 3His strikeout ability remains a strong asset, and tightening up his control could set up a stronger second half.
Detailed Analysis
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Season Analysis
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Splits vs LHP / RHP
Metrics Deep Dive
MLB-wide percentile rank, defensive and pitching metric summaries, pitch-type stats, and batted-ball distribution.
Pitching — MLB-wide Standing
What is Shota Imanaga's FIP? 4.50 in 2026
FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) measures a pitcher's true skill using only home runs, walks, hit-by-pitches and strikeouts — outcomes the pitcher controls. By stripping out defense and luck, it tracks real ability more closely than ERA.
Shota Imanaga's 2026 FIP is 4.50, rated as "below average". That's 0.50 above the MLB average of about 4.00, leaving room to improve.
Compare with other Japanese pitchers in the FIP rankingPitch Type K% & BA Against
K% / BA-against / Whiff% by pitch type this season. K% is based on at-bats where each type was the strikeout pitch.
| Pitch | Usage | K% | BAA | Whiff% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four-Seam Fastball | 40.6% | 21.7% | .344 | 17.6% |
| Splitter | 33.7% | 29.1% | .299 | 39.4% |
| Sweeper | 14.9% | 26.3% | .263 | 30.4% |
| Sinker | 6.7% | 7.0% | .303 | 13.1% |
| Curveball | 3.1% | 0.0% | .200 | 0.0% |
| Slider | 1.1% | — | — | 38.5% |
K%: rate of strikeouts among plate appearances where this pitch type was the final pitch. Whiff%: whiffs per swing. Types with fewer than 10 pitches excluded.
Splits by Batter Handedness
BA / OPS against and WHIP vs right-handed and left-handed batters this season. Spot weaknesses by batter type.
| Split | BAA | OPS | WHIP | K | IP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs RHB | .244 | .718 | 1.15 | 73 | 82.0 |
| vs LHB | .200 | .705 | 1.07 | 36 | 31.2 |
Game Log
2026 Season Appearance Log
20 starts · 109 total strikeouts
| Date | Opp | IP | K | HR | BB | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7/20 | vsMIN | 7.0 | 4 | - | 1 | W |
| 7/11 | @CIN | 5.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | L |
| 7/5 | vsSTL | 4.2 | 8 | 1 | 3 | L |
| 6/30 | vsSD | 6.1 | 4 | - | 0 | - |
| 6/25 | @NYM | 5.1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | W |
| 6/16 | vsCOL | 5.2 | 3 | - | 1 | - |
| 6/11 | @COL | 5.0 | 7 | - | 2 | - |
| 6/5 | vsOAK | 6.0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | - |
| 5/30 | @STL | 5.1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | L |
| 5/25 | vsHOU | 6.0 | 6 | 3 | 1 | L |
| 5/19 | vsMIL | 4.1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | L |
| 5/14 | @ATL | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | L |
| 5/8 | vsCIN | 6.0 | 10 | 1 | 3 | W |
| 5/3 | vsARI | 7.0 | 5 | - | 1 | W |
| 4/27 | @LAD | 5.1 | 6 | - | 3 | L |
| 4/22 | vsPHI | 7.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | W |
| 4/16 | @PHI | 6.0 | 11 | 1 | 1 | W |
| 4/11 | vsPIT | 6.0 | 9 | - | 1 | - |
| 4/6 | @CLE | 5.0 | 4 | - | 1 | - |
| 3/30 | vsWSH | 5.0 | 7 | 1 | 2 | L |