Shota Imanaga's strikeout prowess is reminiscent of past Cubs fireballers

Shota Imanaga has put the Chicago Cubs on his back to start his big league career, with Craig Counsell's club running off an 8-1 record in his first nine starts. He's not only a leading Rookie of the Year candidate but has a very real Cy Young candidacy thanks to his history-making run in the early going.

When we look back at attention-grabbing Cubs rookie pitchers who quickly became must-see TV, nobody comes to mind more rapidly than the powerful tandem of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. Coincidentally, they are the only two Cubs hurlers with more punchouts than Imanaga in their first nine starts.

• Kerry Wood - 85 (1998)
• Mark Prior - 65 (2002)
• Shota Imanaga - 58 (2024)

When you think of Wood, you think of strikeouts. After all, 'Kid K' tied the MLB record for most strikeouts in a single game (20) in just his fifth career start, setting expectations for the young right-hander at an unattainable level right out of the gate. Injuries derailed what we all hoped would be a Hall of Fame-bound career, but when Wood was on, he was untouchable.

Mark Prior, Kerry Wood were all all-time Cubs pitching tandem

A few short years later, Wood was joined in the Cubs rotation by a powerful right-hander out of USC in Mark Prior. He made just nine minor league starts after being drafted and burst onto the scene in 2002, pairing up with Wood to give Chicago a powerful 1-2 punch atop the rotation. That season, Prior piled up 147 strikeouts in just 116 2/3 innings of work, but in 2003, both men were at their best.

In that fateful 2003 campaign, Wood and Prior combined for a staggering 511 regular season strikeouts, leading the Cubs deep into the postseason before the wheels fell off against the Marlins in the NLCS. Imanaga's historic start to the 2024 season has Cubs fans once again dreaming of a packed Wrigley Field in late October

With an attack plan centered on deception and location, rather than velocity, and a decade of pro experience pitching in Japan under his belt, the hope is that the crafty left-hander can avoid the pitfalls and injuries that took down two of the most exciting young arms in Chicago Cubs history. If he can do that, who knows what the future might hold.