Shota Imanaga is proving to be nearly unbeatable when he starts for Cubs

A pitcher's record is perhaps the least important stat in modern baseball — thanks, King Felix — and Shota Imanaga's 20-5 record in MLB is more impressive to look at than revel in.

However, a stat that does matter is a team's performance in a starting pitcher's games, as it serves as a good barometer for how competitive a pitcher is in any given game situation.

Well, as you might expect, the Cubs win a lot of the games Imanaga starts. Like, A LOT of the games.

Cubs winning over 75% of Shota Imanaga's starts since debut

Imanaga, who went 15-3 in his "rookie" season, made sure to keep the Cubs in just about every start he pitched last season, as the team went 23-6 in his outings.

While the Japanese southpaw sits on a solid, if unspectacular, record of 5-2 this year, the Cubs are 7-3 in his starts, continuing the win-heavy trend. In total, Chicago is winning ballgames 77% of the time when Imanaga takes the bump, compared to less than 50% when he doesn't since the start of the 2024 season.

That's the mark of a true ace, and Imanaga's splits in winning and losing efforts paints a very clear picture of what he brings to the front of the Cubs' rotation.

In games where Imanaga records a win or no-decision on his record, he's got a 1.63 ERA and 2.87 ERA, respectively. That figure balloons to 9.78 in losing efforts, which makes sense. What's truly impressive about those numbers is that Imanaga has thrown 127 innings in winning efforts in his career (78 1/3 in no-decisions)... and just 23 frames in games he lost.

Run support is a commonly cited stat often used to serve as a counterargument to the whole pitching/team record debate, but don't worry: Imanaga is at his best when the Cubs give him little to work with.

When the Cubs score 0-2 runs in one of Imanaga's starts, the lefty has a 3.19 ERA and allows a .656 OPS; when they score 3-5 runs, he's got a 2.10 ERA and .577 OPS allowed. It's only in high-scoring affairs (six-plus runs scored by the Cubs) that Imanaga lets his foot off the gas pedal a little: 3.59 ERA and .713 OPS allowed.

All of this is to say: Shota Imanaga is really good, and the Cubs are a much better team with him on the roster.