Chicago Cubs lefthander Shota Imanaga was excellent once again on Saturday afternoon, going seven innings while scattering four hits and a walk to go with seven strikeouts. He did not surrender a run. Imanaga did not factor into the decision but is 5-0 in eight starts with a .84 ERA, a .94 WHIP, and 51 strikeouts in 46 innings. Imanaga will start against the St. Louis Cardinals next Friday.

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga has done it again in Monday's 2-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves. The lefty tossed five more shut-out innings against a powerful Braves lineup with eight strikeouts, seven hits allowed, and three walks. He did not factor into the decision. This would generally be a top stat line for any other starting pitcher this season, but not for Imanaga. It's only the third time he didn't make it past six innings in the young season and the first time he has walked three batters in a game. He wasn't as efficient with his pitch count, which is the reason for his shorter outing, but with no runs allowed, he lowered his earned run average to an absurd 0.96 ERA with a 0.94 WHIP. Although his insane run is impossible to sustain, you can feel great as a fantasy manager knowing his next matchup this weekend against a Pittsburgh Pirates lineup that is batting .220 against lefties on the season.

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga continued his stellar start to the season in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Padres. Imanaga pitched seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits (including a two-run home run) and a walk with eight strikeouts. The 30-year-old has been everything fantasy managers could have hoped for and is now 5-0 with a 1.08 ERA, a 9.29 K/9 rate, and a 1.08 BB/9 rate in seven starts and 41 2/3 IP. His next scheduled start will be a tougher one at the Braves, but Imanaga has pitched too well to sit.

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga continued his seamless transition to the major leagues in Wednesday's 1-0 win over the New York Mets, firing a career-high seven scoreless innings on three hits and one walk with seven strikeouts for his fifth win of the season. Imanaga was magnificent once again on Wednesday, scattering three singles and getting just enough run support via a Pete Crow-Armstrong sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. The 30-year-old Japanese import has been nearly unstoppable over his first six starts of the campaign, toting an MLB-best 0.78 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, and 35:4 K:BB across 34 2/3 frames to begin his MLB career. All eyes will be on Imanaga when he toes the rubber in his next scheduled start on Monday during a difficult assignment against the San Diego Padres and fellow Japanese hurler Yu Darvish at Wrigley Field. The Padres rank second in baseball with 163 runs scored through 34 games.

Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga picked up his fourth win of the season in Friday's 7-1 victory over the Red Sox. The lefty looked fantastic again, going six-and-a-third innings allowing five hits, walking one, and striking out seven batters. A solo home run to Tyler O'Neill was the only real blemish in the outing. He's now got a sparkling 0.98 ERA through five starts with a 0.80 WHIP and has struck out 28 batters to just three walks in 27 2/3 IP. The southpaw's next start lines up with the Mets next Wednesday at Citi Field.

Shota Imanga was dominant in his third start of the season as the right-hander went 5.1 innings allowing one run, zero earned in a 4-1 win for the Chicago Cubs. Imanga struck out four in the outing to keep his ERA at 0.00 through three starts. Imanga left the game in the top of the sixth with runners on third and second after back-to-back walks and a groundout moved the runners. The Cubs bullpen was able to get out of it and give Imanga the win who improved to 2-0 on the season.

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga made an excellent first impression in his regular-season debut, earning the win in a 5-0 game against the Rockies. Imanaga pitched six innings, allowing just two hits and no walks with nine strikeouts. The 30-year-old brought high expectations with him from Japan and delivered on them in his first big-league start. His next scheduled start will be much tougher in a home matchup against the Dodgers. Fantasy managers may be hesitant to trust him, but his clout from Japan and first-start success could justify sending him out for the matchup.

Chicago Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga struck out nine Oakland Athletics hitters as part of a stellar effort in Cactus League action on Thursday. The Japanese import signed a four-year, $53 million deal with the Cubs this winter but wasn't at his best across his first two starts this spring. Imanaga allowed five earned runs across his first two starts and 5 1/3 innings but still managed to strike out 10 in that time. After his nine punchouts in 4 1/3 scoreless innings on Thursday, he has now racked up an eye-popping 19 punchouts against just a pair of walks in 9 2/3 spring frames to this point. He struck out 174 across 148 innings with Yokohama last season and projects for a 24.2% K% and a 3.88 ERA across 26 starts by ATC for the 2024 campaign.

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga allowed three runs and three hits, including one home run, over 2.1 innings of work during his Spring Training debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers last Saturday. On a more positive note, he struck out five batters and did not issue a walk. One of this offseason's most appealing free agent pitchers and the consensus No. 2 pitcher signed from Japan this offseason, behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto Imanaga didn't look perfect by any means during his first outing. However, he flashed impressive control and was quite efficient, tossing just 21 pitches over his two-plus frames. Look for the 30-year-old southpaw to be a key piece of Chicago's rotation this year.

Chicago Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga will make his Cactus League debut on Saturday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cubs signed the Japanese southpaw to a four-year, $53 million deal in the offseason, and the 30-year-old will be locked into a starting rotation spot in Chicago in his first year in the States. Imanaga isn't a hard thrower by any means, but he's crafty and has excellent command of his pitches. In 148 innings in Nippon Professional Baseball last year, he had a nice 2.80 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 174 strikeouts. Imanaga isn't expected to be as dominant with the Cubs in his first season, and how productive he'll be overall could depend on how much he's able to keep the ball out of the air at Wrigley Field. Still, he has excellent stuff and is worth a late-round flier in mixed fantasy leagues for rotation depth.