{"id":578087,"date":"2026-04-11T14:58:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T14:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/578087\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T14:58:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T14:58:10","slug":"astros-learning-as-we-go-with-tatsuya-imai-whose-value-to-the-rotation-has-never-been-greater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/578087\/","title":{"rendered":"Astros \u2018learning as we go\u2019 with Tatsuya Imai, whose value to the rotation has never been greater"},"content":{"rendered":"

SEATTLE \u2014 Desperation arrived after 27 pitches, most nowhere near Tatsuya Imai\u2019s intended target. Number 28 sailed to the same spot as so many others, but Christian V\u00e1zquez tapped his helmet for a challenge anyway.<\/p>\n

Imai\u2019s misfired fastball missed the strike zone by a full inch, according to Statcast. Wasting a challenge in a 1-0 count against the game\u2019s sixth hitter seemed illogical, but sometimes daring decisions are needed to interrupt an implosion. V\u00e1zquez is Imai\u2019s personal catcher, in part, \u201cjust to continue to build some stability\u201d for someone in need of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it\u2019s important for the transition of Imai to the major leagues,\u201d Houston Astros manager Joe Espada said before the game.<\/p>\n

Imai is making a move that few have mastered without mishaps. Doing so inside an organization that had never signed a Japanese player straight from Nippon Professional Baseball only complicates the task.<\/p>\n

Easing it is the Astros\u2019 foremost goal. They allowed Imai to dictate much of his spring training buildup, keep his peculiar schedule of bullpen sessions between starts, and maintain an open line of communication for feedback.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re learning as we go,\u201d Espada said.<\/p>\n

Pairing Imai with V\u00e1zquez is another part of Houston\u2019s plan. He caught each of Imai\u2019s first two major-league starts, the first of which went awful and the second awesome. The third start on Friday tested the battery like never before. V\u00e1zquez tried every trick in the toolbox of his 12-year career, be it calling breaking balls while behind in the count, shouting encouragement after each misfire, and \u2014 when all else failed \u2014 challenging a pitch the entire stadium knew was a ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrying to do something,\u201d V\u00e1zquez said. \u201cI think it was close, in my eyes, but yeah, just trying to do something to help him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nothing worked. Imai imploded at a time his team could ill afford it, amid a five-game losing streak and with the rest of Houston\u2019s rotation in tatters. Imai procured one out, harnessed no command and further stressed an already-burdened bullpen. The Seattle Mariners seized the advantage, handing the Astros a 9-6 loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know we had the losing streak and players with injuries. I wanted to stop this losing streak,\u201d Imai said through an interpreter. \u201cBut I wasn\u2019t able to perform the starting pitcher\u2019s job. That\u2019s the sad part.\u201d<\/p>\n

Imai is the closest thing this shoulder-strained<\/a> starting rotation has to a stabilizer, remarkable to consider but required by circumstance. Houston signed him this winter in hopes he could slot in the middle of its rotation. Indefinite absences from Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier have thrust Imai higher in the hierarchy and into an impossible position, one he\u2019s paid to occupy but perhaps not ready to assume. Friday night at T-Mobile Park only furthered that thought.<\/p>\n

Imai faced seven hitters. Four of them walked, and three scored. He hit a batter with the bases loaded and uncorked a wild pitch to force home another run. He threw 20 of his 37 pitches for balls, prolonging what must be a concerning trend for team officials.<\/p>\n

Imai has walked 11 batters in his first 8 2\/3 innings as a major leaguer. His ERA is 7.27. Only 54.4 percent of Imai\u2019s pitches have been strikes, far below the major-league average of 62.8 percent. Even during Imai\u2019s second start of the season, an encouraging outing in which he threw 5 2\/3 scoreless innings against the A\u2019s, he only tossed 61.7 percent of his pitches for strikes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looked the same mechanically,\u201d V\u00e1zquez said after Friday\u2019s start. \u201cBut it was just way far from the zone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Across Imai\u2019s final two seasons in NPB, a span of 337 innings, he walked just three batters per nine. During three appearances in spring training, Imai walked one batter. Now, he\u2019s perhaps the most glaring problem on a pitching staff that surrendered a league-high 80 walks.<\/p>\n

Reasons for Imai\u2019s regular-season regression vary. He mentioned the mound at T-Mobile Park \u201cwas really hard,\u201d and he failed to adjust. Pitching in 64-degree weather with a breeze is \u201cnot usual in Japan,\u201d Imai said. The slickness of major-league baseballs has been an issue for him since spring training.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Japan, there\u2019s only six stadiums we go around during the season, but here, we have to go to 30 stadiums and adjust to the mound in their stadium,\u201d Imai said. \u201cThat\u2019s what I have to figure out, how to adjust to those mounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Graphic via Baseball Savant<\/p>\n

Of the 20 four-seam fastballs he threw, one was called a strike. Without precise fastball command, Imai lives behind in the count and cannot unleash his trademark slider, even though V\u00e1zquez tried to call some while behind in counts. That didn\u2019t work either.<\/p>\n

Imai\u2019s infrequent use of his curveball and changeup isn\u2019t helping, but that may be a matter of comfort. Perhaps with more experience, his arsenal can expand, and his confidence will grow.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we know more about him,\u201d Espada said, \u201cwe\u2019ll continue to make adjustments with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

No other option exists, which is an eerie thought for a team teetering toward trouble.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SEATTLE \u2014 Desperation arrived after 27 pitches, most nowhere near Tatsuya Imai\u2019s intended target. Number 28 sailed to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":578088,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[373,363,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-578087","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-houston-astros","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=578087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/578088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=578087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=578087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=578087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}