Craig Counsell Shares Exciting Update on Cubs' Shota Imanaga

The Chicago Cubs already have the makings of a great rotation. After acquiring starter Edward Cabrera, the focus may be completely off another ace-caliber pitcher in left-hander Shota Imanaga.

It shouldn't be. Despite an average season for the lefty, the Cubs are confident that Imanaga can bounce back.

According to MLB insider Bruce Levine, manager Craig Counsell said that most of the reason Imanaga's fastball velocity is up is due to him finally being healthy from his hamstring injury. Counsell also believes that Imanaga's bad mechanics stemming from the injury have been remedied.

Counsell told us today in Mesa that Shota Imanaga’s throwing his fastball harder, is mostly a product of his hamstring being healthy. Counsell believes the injury created some bad mechanical issues while the pitcher compensated for the injury.
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) February 19, 2026

What does this mean for Chicago?

Imanaga was considered a future ace after signing with the Cubs out of Japan. He backed that up in his rookie season.

In 29 starts during the 2024 season, Imanaga went 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 173.1 innings. What was even more spectacular was that he struck out 174 batters, walking just 28. That K/BB ratio was 6.21, the best in the league.

Imanaga was recognized for his spectacular season with an All-Star appearance and top-five finishes in both National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young voting.

Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

After that stellar 2024, expectations were high for Imanaga. However, Imanaga's ERA rose nearly a full run to 3.73, while striking out just 117 batters in 144.2 innings. This was mostly due to a 4.70 second-half ERA.

Imanaga pitched in just 25 games last season due to a hamstring strain. According to Imanaga, that injury hindered him in the second half. It makes sense that bad mechanics from an injury would cause struggles.

After a series of options were declined, Imanaga became a free agent, but re-signed with Chicago when he was extended a qualifying offer.

While his fastball has never been elite (91.7 mph average in 2024), his fastball was his worst pitch in 2025. According to Baseball Savant, Imanaga had a .594 expected slugging percentage on his fastball, compared to a .459 in 2024.

Imanaga has never been a ground-ball pitcher (19th percentile in 2024), so when he got hurt, he tried to compensate in other ways that caused him to give up 31 home runs in 2025, along with a 30% ground-ball rate (good for the fourth percentile).

While the control was still there, his four-seam velocity was also down from 91.7 mph to 90.8 (good for the eighth percentile), a negligible but very noticeable difference.

Now, Counsell revealed that Imanaga is not only throwing harder, but is also finally healthy.

If Imanaga can stay healthy in 2026 and get back to his 2024 form, the Cubs' rotation will be even better than advertised.

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