Imanaga’s Longball Struggles Creating Unrest Entering October
Shōta Imanaga has been struggling for quite some time now, and having one of his worst starts of the season on Thursday night did nothing to ease concerns over his performance. He allowed eight runs in just 5.2 innings of work, serving up 11 batted balls at 101 mph or greater. Only elite defense kept things from getting even uglier.
Imanaga is now up to a 3.73 ERA on the season, much worse than his rookie year. Fly balls have always been an issue for him, but that has been especially prevalent as of late. He’s only keeping the ball on the ground 30.0% of the time this year, which is in the fifth percentile. Being at 37.2% and the 19th percentile last season were far from great, but still much better than what we’re seeing in 2025.
He has a 6.51 ERA in September, allowing 30 hits in 27.2 innings while striking out only 22 batters. Ten of those hits have cleared the fence, and he’s given up 20 homers in 13 second-half starts. That’s a recipe for disaster, especially against a Padres team that boasts power bats like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado.
Things have gotten so bad of late that Marquee’s Cliff Floyd questions whether Imanaga will even get a start in the postseason.
“Too many balls are left up … I don’t know if Shota gets a start in the postseason.”
Shota Imanaga has allowed a home run in 9 of his last 10 starts. pic.twitter.com/NHWb4oKxv2
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) September 26, 2025
That would have been unthinkable earlier in the season, but there is a legitimate reason to debate his role with the team this October. Cade Horton‘s injury could force him to miss at least the Wild Card series, giving Craig Counsell another reason to start Imanaga. If neither Horton nor Imanaga starts in the first series, things start to look bleak for the Cubs.
You could easily argue that they already do. These last few games are going to be very important as the Cubs look to secure home-field advantage for their first playoff series since 2020.
