{"id":92437,"date":"2025-09-13T16:48:36","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T16:48:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=92437"},"modified":"2025-09-13T16:48:36","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T16:48:36","slug":"cubs-untested-ace-imanaga-poised-to-shatter-postseason-doubts-rookie-phenoms-clutch-magic-ignites-wrigley-october-uprising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=92437","title":{"rendered":"Cubs’ Untested Ace Imanaga Poised to Shatter Postseason Doubts \u2013 Rookie Phenom’s Clutch Magic Ignites Wrigley October Uprising."},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Cubs<\/p>\n

Chicago Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga has never started a postseason game, but that doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s a stranger to big moments.<\/p>\n

The 32-year-old started for Team Japan in the championship game of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, helping his team secure a 2-1 win over Team USA. Imanaga also brings over 1,000 innings of experience in Nippon Professional Baseball, and he\u2019s 24-10 with a 3.04 ERA in 51 Major League starts.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why the Cubs, who currently hold the top National League Wild Card spot, have full confidence in Imanaga come October\u2014as revealed in a new piece by Patrick Mooney of The Athletic<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Cubs confident in Imanaga<\/strong><\/p>\n

Imanaga signed with the Cubs as a free agent before the 2024 season. He\u2019s since been one of the best pitchers in baseball, with one All-Star appearance and a combined no-hitter on his resume.<\/p>\n

\u201cShota has spoiled us from Day 1 in terms of how good he\u2019s been,\u201d Cubs manager Craig Counsell said, per Mooney. \u201cHe passed every test now. I remember last year: \u2018Oh, this is the second time he\u2019s going to face a team. Is he going to be good?\u2019 Those were some of the questions being asked.<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s gone through the league multiple times. He\u2019s faced the same hitters multiple times. He\u2019s (done) the game planning. He\u2019s shown that he\u2019s just good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Imanaga primarily alternates between a four-seam fastball and split-finger. While his pitches aren\u2019t high in velocity, his accuracy is exceptional. He ranks in the top 4% of MLB in walk rate (4.6%) and boasts a 31.0% chase rate as well, per Baseball Savant<\/em>. That\u2019s what makes it so hard for teams to game plan against him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been games where teams have a plan against him,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s helped, necessarily, but it makes sense. There have been some teams that have tried to attack the high fastball. There have been teams that have tried to be super patient with the split-finger.<\/p>\n

But he executes at such a high level, and there\u2019s enough difference in those pitches, and he\u2019s crafty enough to mix in some other looks, that he can still win and sniff out or sense what the other team is trying to do and be successful.”<\/p>\n

The Cubs are confident that approach will translate to postseason baseball.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Imanaga has never pitched in MLB’s postseason, but that doesn’t mean he’s a stranger to big moments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":92441,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nCubs' Untested Ace Imanaga Poised to Shatter Postseason Doubts \u2013 Rookie Phenom's Clutch Magic Ignites Wrigley October Uprising. - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=92437\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cubs' Untested Ace Imanaga Poised to Shatter Postseason Doubts \u2013 Rookie Phenom's Clutch Magic Ignites Wrigley October Uprising. - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Imanaga has never pitched in MLB's postseason, but that doesn't mean he's a stranger to big moments.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=92437\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-13T16:48:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Rinrin-2025-09-13T234829.087.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"XuanTan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"XuanTan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=92437\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=92437\",\"name\":\"Cubs' Untested Ace Imanaga Poised to Shatter Postseason Doubts \u2013 Rookie Phenom's Clutch Magic Ignites Wrigley October Uprising. - 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