{"id":502167,"date":"2026-02-25T02:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T02:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/502167\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T02:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T02:02:09","slug":"shota-imanaga-shows-a-velocity-jump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/502167\/","title":{"rendered":"Shota Imanaga shows a velocity jump"},"content":{"rendered":"

MESA, Ariz. \u2014 Shota Imanaga<\/a> knows his strength on the mound doesn\u2019t come from lighting up a radar gun.<\/p>\n

When Imanaga is at his best, he\u2019s commanding the zone and playing off his four-seam fastball-splitter combination. After averaging 1 mph less on his fastball during an up-and-down 2025 season compared to his stellar rookie campaign, the velocity flashing on the scoreboard at Sloan Park was notable during Imanaga\u2019s first Cactus League<\/a> start of the spring.<\/p>\n

Imanaga tossed two scoreless innings against the San Diego Padres in a 6-5 win while striking out one, not walking a batter and scattering three singles. Most impressively: the left-hander\u2019s 33-pitch outing showed a notable uptick in velocity on all four pitch types. Imanaga registered a 2.2 mph increase on his four-seam fastball and 1.4 mph with his splitter. Of the two sweepers (+3.1 mph) and one curveball (+4.2 mph) he threw, the limited sample saw Imanaga\u2019s improved velocity appear across the board within his repertoire.<\/p>\n

Imanaga, though, downplayed what that could mean for him moving forward.<\/p>\n

How lefty Shota Imanaga and the Chicago Cubs are planning to tweak his arsenal for a bounce-back season<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to preface by saying, for me, velo isn\u2019t everything, but obviously having velocity is an advantage,\u201d Imanaga said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. \u201cSo I feel like today out there, felt like the velo was up. Overall, my takeaway was that was a good start.\u201d<\/p>\n

Imanaga opted not to play for Japan in the World Baseball Classic<\/a> this year, preferring to stay with the Cubs and hone his stuff over the next four weeks of exhibition games. Regardless of whether Imanaga can maintain the improved velocity he showed Tuesday, he expects more consistency this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best players day to day, they\u2019re going to feel different, but they\u2019re going to perform to their best and how they\u2019re feeling,\u201d Imanaga said. \u201cSo last year, there\u2019s no pain or anything in the second half (from the hamstring). I think it was more of my skill, and that wasn\u2019t enough. In the offseason, I reflected on what I needed to work on and I think if I can perform to my best of how I\u2019m feeling, that\u2019s all you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jonathon Long on track to play in the World Baseball Classic
\n\"ChicagoChicago Cubs first baseman Jonathon Long is checked by a trainer after he was hit by Texas Rangers left fielder Mark Canha while he ran to first base after hitting a single during the fourth inning of a Cactus League game at Sloan Park on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in Mesa, Ariz. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Cubs prospect Jonathon Long seems to have avoided a serious injury stemming from a collision at first base Saturday.<\/p>\n

A Jefferson Rojas throw pulled Long up the line and put him in the path of the Texas Rangers\u2019 Mark Canha, who awkwardly bent Long\u2019s left elbow on the play. Long was diagnosed with a left elbow sprain but already has experienced dissipating soreness. Long, 24, was supposed to depart for Tokyo on Tuesday to join Chinese Taipei for the World Baseball Classic. Instead, Long will now leave Friday to make sure his elbow is in a good spot, wanting to get close to 100% as he continues to improve every day.<\/p>\n

Long took some swings Tuesday as he ramps back up.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t really want to get on a plane and have some questions about his availability,\u201d Counsell said Tuesday. \u201d \u2026 He\u2019s trending well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Conforto arrives at camp
\n\"ChicagoChicago Cubs nonroster invitee Michael Conforto joined camp on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz. (Meghan Montemurro\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Although his minor-league deal was not yet official, outfielder Michael Conforto joined the Cubs<\/a> for his first workout with the team Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Conforto\u2019s deal includes a non-roster invite to big-league camp, putting him in the crowded outfield mix<\/a> with a group that includes fellow NRIs Dylan Carlson and Chas McCormick, plus 40-man roster options Justin Dean and Kevin Alc\u00e1ntara. Counsell anticipates Conforto getting into a Cactus League game Saturday or Sunday.<\/p>\n

Counsell felt Conforto laid out really well where he\u2019s at right now when meeting with him Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s in a good place,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cYou learn from all your experiences, it puts you in a good place. You have uncertainty when you come to camp on a non-roster deal, and I think he\u2019s in a position to use that uncertainty in a really good way that makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MESA, Ariz. \u2014 Shota Imanaga knows his strength on the mound doesn\u2019t come from lighting up a radar…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":502168,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,245026,5158,14538,252480,6593,591,6784,16073,85,205673],"class_list":{"0":"post-502167","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cactus-league","11":"tag-chicago-cubs","12":"tag-craig-counsell","13":"tag-jonathon-long","14":"tag-michael-conforto","15":"tag-mlb","16":"tag-mlb-baseball","17":"tag-shota-imanaga","18":"tag-sports","19":"tag-spring-training"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=502167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/502168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=502167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=502167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=502167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}