Shota Imanaga, 30, a left-hander for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball, is knocking on the big league door.
Citing sources, Major League Baseball columnist John Morosi reported on July 7 that Imanaga is looking to make the big leagues this offseason.
The former No. 1 overall pick of Yokohama in the 2015 draft is 64-49 with a 3.18 ERA in 161 career appearances in Nippon Professional Baseball.
This season, he is 7-3 with a 2.72 ERA in 18 games and 122 1/3 innings pitched. He has a 0.981 WHIP, 1.1 home runs, 1.4 walks, and 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
His strikeout-to-walk ratio is 7.47, the best it’s been since his debut. This is due to fewer walks.
The three-quarter pitcher averages 146.5 mph with a four-seam fastball, 137 mph slider, 134 mph changeup, and 116 mph curveball.
He represented Japan in the Premier12 in 2019 and the World Baseball Classic in 2023.
With Imanaga’s decision, he joins Yoshinobu Yamamoto as the second Japanese starting pitcher to reach the big leagues this offseason.카지노
If Imanaga signs with the big leagues, the Yokohama organization will receive a percentage of the posting fee based on the size of the contract.
If the contract total is $25 million or less, they will receive 20% of the amount, if it is more than $25 million but less than $50 million, they will receive an additional 17.5% of the excess, and if it is more than $50 million, they will receive an additional 15% of the excess.