Shota Imanaga steals the show at All-MLB Awards Show in Las Vegas

We're fresh out of adjectives to describe Shota Imanaga's rookie season. But there's no questioning just how good the Japanese left-hander was for the Chicago Cubs in his first season coming over from Japan. To say he exceeded expectations is putting things mildly.

“I'm not sure he can do much better than last year,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer told MLB.com earlier this month. “He had such a great year.”

Great, he was. Imanaga made 29 starts, working to a 2.91 ERA across more than 170 innings of work. He got off to a historic start in his MLB career, posting a 0.84 ERA in his first nine starts - the best mark in big-league history. He also pitched the bulk of the team's first no-hitter at Wrigley Field in more than half a century, adding another line to his already impressive resume.

For all his efforts, Imanaga was named to the All-MLB Second Team on Thursday night in Las Vegas, a nice acknowledgement of his work this season. That should be the story. But he made more headlines for the musical talents he first showed off in his introductory press conference in January - this time, bringing his vocal chops to the stage in Las Vegas.

As if being utterly dominant on the mound wasn't enough to endear him to Cubs fan, Imanaga's fun-loving nature and bubbly personality stole hearts in Wrigleyville all year long. From that memorable introductory press conference to showing up to Wrigley in a Walter Payton jersey to mark the start of the NFL season, he's embraced the city and it's embraced him right back.

Hopefully, next fall, we get his showmanship on an October stage. I, for one, would love to see him on a table in the home clubhouse's party room, belting out showtunes after clinching a postseason series. Anyone else with me on this?