Chicago Cubs Star Part of Intense NL Rookie of Year Debate

Chicago Cubs starter Shota Imanaga is one of three players that are frontrunners for NL Rookie of the Year, per an MLB insider.

Aug 6, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga (18) throws the ball against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning at Wrigley Field. / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Chicago Cubs rookie Shota Imanaga may be 30, but he wouldn’t be the first Asian pitcher with long-time experience overseas to win a league Rookie of the Year award.

In fact, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, speaking on his Fair Territory podcast, pointed out that if Imanaga pulled off the feat he would be the fifth.

The others are Hideo Nomo in 1995, Kazuhiro Sasaki in 2000, Ichiro Suzuki in 2001 and Shohei Ohtani in 2018. All played overseas before they came to the Majors.

Rosenthal talked about the race in the National League, which he said entering the final 40 or so games comes down to three players — Imanaga, Pittsburgh starting pitcher Paul Skenes and San Diego outfielder Jackson Merrill.

Imanaga pitched on Monday against Cleveland, a game the Cubs lost. He lasted five innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits, while he struck out three and walked one. He ended up taking a no-decision, keeping his record at 9-2 and finishing with an ERA of 3.16. He has 131 strikeouts and 19 walks, one of the best strikeout-to-walk ratios in the game.

Rosenthal said that Imanaga’s experience overseas shouldn’t factor into his worthiness for the award.

“The difficulty of transitioning to a different country, different culture and even a different baseball makes such players worthy of full consideration,” Rosenthal said.

But the debate, he said, rages on two levels. First, which pitcher is more worthy? Imanaga, who has pitched the entire season and hasn’t missed a turn, or Skenes, who was called up in May and ended up earning the start in the All-Star Game for the National League?

Skenes has a much better ERA in fewer innings than Imanaga. But, as Rosenthal pointed out, there is a chance the Pirates might opt to shut Skenes down before the season once they’re eliminated from playoff contention. Does that factor into the vote.

But, he also said perhaps the bigger question is whether either pitcher is more worthy of the award than Merrill, a position player who made the Padres’ Opening Day roster?

He could finish the season close to .300 at the plate and with more than 20 home runs. He also made the jump with fewer than 50 games above Class-A in the minors.

History isn’t on either Imanaga’s or Skenes’ side, either. Rosenthal said that 40 of the last 77 Rookie of the Year winners have been position players. The last starting pitcher to win the award in either league was Michael Fulmer in 2016 (he excluded Ohtani because he is a two-way player).

Fulmer was the seventh starting pitcher to win the award since the turn of the century. Relievers (six) have won nearly as many.

Imanaga may need a late surge to make his case.