Shota Imanaga's latest accomplishment brings up memories of Mark Prior

Anytime you're drawing comparisons to a young Mark Prior, good things are happening. Left-hander Shota Imanaga continues to prove he's more than capable of going toe-to-toe with big league hitters and his latest accomplishment has a direct connection to the former fan favorite fireballer.

Imanaga, who made the jump to MLB this year after pitching eight seasons in Japan, has been one of the Cubs' most reliable starters and he's piled up the strikeouts in his first 25 starts. In that stretch, he's amassed 148 punchouts - the most of any Cubs rookie starter dating back to 2002, when Prior notched 147 in 19 starts and another 45 in his first six starts in 2003 (for a total of 192 in 25 starts).

Of course, as heralded and dominant as Prior was early in his career, his run in the big leagues was ultimately short-lived. He threw his final MLB pitch in 2006 and only made 106 starts before injuries curtailed his once-promising career. But there's no denying the utterly overpowering arsenal the right-hander flashed coming out of USC - or the impact he had on the '03 Cubs and their narrowly missing out on an NL pennant.

Drawing comparisons between Mark Prior and Shota Imanaga

Despite his making only 19 starts in that 2002 season, let's stack up Imanaga and Prior's rookie campaigns side-by-side (acknowledging the former's year is not yet over):

• Imanaga: 146.1 IP / 3.14 ERA / 3.73 FIP / 1.052 WHIP / 9.1 K/9
• Prior: 116.2 IP / 3.32 ERA / 3.16 FIP / 1.166 WHIP / 11.3 K/9

The difference in WHIP can be chalked up to Imanga's NL-leading 6.43 K/BB ratio. His control has been a difference-maker for the southpaw as he's adjusted to the league and despite a recent downward trend in his home run numbers, he's still been incredibly effective. Simply put, he's been a stopper for the Cubs, even when everything else felt like it was going wrong, with Chicago winning 19 of his 25 starts this season.

In the end, the hope for Imanga is to have a long, effective career - something Prior never accomplished. Despite a clear contrast in how they got their results, both of these pitchers made their presence felt during their rookie seasons, with the strikeout as a common thread linking them in the record books.