Shota Imanaga is a forgotten man on the Samurai Japan pitching staff. That makes him the perfect option to face the US National Team in the World Baseball Classic finals.
On paper, this decision does not make sense. Yu Darvish and Shohei Ohtani are both available and have a track record of success against major league hitters. The left handed Imanaga will be facing a lineup that is heavily skewed to the right side. With Imanaga being such an unknown against major league hitters, this move could be a disaster.
The unknown makes Shota Imanaga the right choice
That is also why Imanaga is the perfect option. The US National Team is unfamiliar with him and his offerings. He has a strong four pitch arsenal that generates plenty of swings and misses. His fastball has impressive spin rates and sits in the lower 90s. He has a splitter, cutter, and a curve as well, with the splitter and cutter able to put batters away with two strikes When he misses his spots, he tends to do so in good spots in the zone as he avoids hard contact. It is fair to look at Imanaga as being similar to the 2022 version of Tyler Anderson as a major league comparison.
Imanaga had a strong showing in 2022. He posted a 2.26 ERA and a 0.940 WHiP in his 143.2 innings for the Yokohama Bay Stars, striking out 132 batters with just 29 walks. He has also had success thus far in the WBC, allowing just one run on three hits over four innings while striking out five. Thus far, he has been everything that the Japanese squad needed.
There is not much risk to sending Imanaga to the mound to begin the game either. If he gets into trouble, Darvish and Ohtani will still be waiting in the wings. In this case, having that relative unknown, at least as far as the major league players are concerned, could be an advantage. We will know in just a few hours.
Shota Imanaga may be a surprise starter but he is a solid pitcher in his own right. Samurai Japan is making the right move by handing him the ball.