Steele impressed by Shota Imanaga's pitches: "Really filthy" |
One of the most intriguing developments at Cubs camp this week was the inaugural throwing session by lefty Shota Imanaga, who inked a lucrative four-year, $53 million deal with the Cubs just last month.
Imanaga's performance has garnered praise from the coaching staff, including pitching coach Tommy Hottovy. “Just seeing his stuff, I think it’s come as advertised,” Hottovy said. “It’s just a really unique fastball. We’re just trying to talk through ways we think he can continue to use it in effective ways. And then just seeing the rest of the repertoire, he’s got a complete repertoire. He’s a really complete package of a pitcher.” “The way he pitches and the movement he creates, it’s going to play harder than it seems, right?” Hottovy said. “It’s just one of those rising, riding fastballs that never seem to come down. Yan (Gomes) caught him today and even mentioned that he just felt like he was squeezing where he thought the ball was going to be, and it kind of wasn’t clean. It, like, rattled a little bit.” Cubs pitcher Justin Steele expressed admiration for Imanaga's mechanics and the quality of his pitches. "One thing that really stands out for me and something I really want to implement into my game is how quick he is to the plate, his slide step, how he's always loaded it seems like," Steele said. "Watching his bullpens and I already see things I kind of want to take from his game and add to mine, and obviously, his pitches within themselves are just really filthy. It's a lot of fun to watch his bullpens just the way he controls and manipulates the ball." Imanaga has a career 2.96 ERA over eight seasons pitching in Japan. Can confirm @J_Steele21, Shōta is filthy. 🤢 Spied @Cubs pitcher Shōta Imanaga playing catch on the Agility Field under the watchful eye of pitching coach Tommy Hottovy. #Cubs #ST2K24 pic.twitter.com/JiOK1X6fKX
エグさを確認できました。 https://t.co/bloC0CHo86 pic.twitter.com/n7yGYzeA2n
