Cubs' Shota Imanaga gets an All-Star nod in his rookie year

Shota Imanaga hasn’t been very interested in discussing his potential selection to the MLB All-Star Game.

Despite the fact that he’s been among the best starters in baseball and has been one of the few bright spots on a Chicago Cubs team that has disappointed in 2024, he didn’t want to get into All-Star talk unless (and maybe until?) he actually got selected. But his teammates were more than happy to do it on his behalf.

“He’s been fantastic,” Ian Happ said. “He’s one of the best pitchers in the game, but definitely, as far as rookies go, what he’s been able to do in his first 16 starts in the big leagues has been super impressive. From our vantage point, he’s been the guy for us all year. I would be honored for him to represent the Chicago Cubs at the All-Star game.”

On Sunday, that honor finally became official.

Imanaga was announced as the Cubs’ lone representative for the Midsummer Classic, which will take place July 16 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. He’s the first Cubs rookie since Kris Bryant in 2015 to receive a National League All-Star nod, and he’s one of two Cubs rookie pitchers ever to make an All-Star team (Sam Jones, 1955).

“I think I can tell the Chicago Cubs fans that are cheering me on, as well as the fans in Japan, some good news,” Imanaga said via interpreter Edwin Stanberry.

Imanaga has been electric from the start.

He was named the NL Rookie of the Month for March/April as he went 4-0 with a 0.98 ERA. He didn’t even give up an earned run until his fourth start on April 20, and he ultimately posted the lowest ERA (0.84) through his first nine starts, the lowest mark by any pitcher through their first nine since earned run became an official stat in 1913.

Through Saturday, Imanaga had posted a 3.16 ERA, the eighth-lowest among qualified NL pitchers. That ballooned with outings in which he allowed seven earned runs to the Milwaukee Brewers on May 29 and 10 earned runs to the New York Mets on June 21.

But even with those rough starts, he’s been about as dependable and valuable as the Cubs could’ve asked him to be in the first season of his four-year, $53 million deal. He’s got 10 quality starts on the year, with four others in which he’s allowed one earned run or fewer (three of them were scoreless) in no less than four innings.

For a simple look at how valuable he’s been, take this into consideration: The Cubs are 12-4 when he takes the ball, and they’re 30-45 when he doesn’t.

“He’s kind of done everything you’ve asked him to do in the first half of [his] rookie season,” pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said. “I think he went off to an excellent start at the beginning, hit a couple snags, worked through them, has proven that he can make adjustments and get back into it. He’s a big reason we’ve been able to sustain some stuff throughout this first half of the season.”

His success has also come from how he’s handled things off the field, too.

Remember, this is first season since coming over from Japan. He may be 30 years old with plenty of high-level pitching experience, but he’s now in a new country playing at the highest level of baseball. That kind of transition is never easy to deal with.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell believes Imanaga’s attitude every day has helped contribute to his All-Star season. Counsell noted his curious nature and his desire to learn and get better as traits that have added to that daily attitude.

There’s also the ever-growing list of moments that’ve endeared him to Cubs fans, every one in the organization and even people elsewhere around baseball.

That dates back to his introductory press conference, when he introduced himself in English and recited some of the lyrics to “Go Cubs Go,” the team’s victory song. It runs all the way into Sunday, when after Counsell announced Imanaga as the Cubs’ All-Star during a team meeting, he began his speech by saying, “Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls” to the rest of his team’s amusement.

Following Hayden Wesneski‘s start Sunday, when he was asked about Imanaga, he smiled and said, “Man, he’s something else. He’s a great person. You wouldn’t know if he had a good day or a bad day. It just seems like every day is a good day for him.” That’s the general view teammates and coaches have of Imanaga, and again, it’s that attitude that Counsell believes has helped get him to an All-Star level already.

“He’s got a great attitude every single day,” Counsell said. “He’s a learner, he wants to get better, he’s curious, and all those things keep him moving forward, get him past the tough moments. He wants more, and he always tries to do a little better and do a little more and get better at the next thing, and those are just signs of great players. He’s very deserving of the recognition.”

There’s no guarantee Imanaga actually appears in the All-Star Game next week. The Cubs are still trying to win ballgames, and his day(s) to take the mound during this last stretch before the break could line up so that he wouldn’t be on enough rest to pitch in the game.

Regardless, Counsell said his advice for Imanaga would be to “soak in every bit of it that you can get” while at the All-Star festivities, because “this is a life experience that not many guys get.” Plus, even if he can’t pitch in it this year, his teammates are pretty confident there will be more opportunities for him to do so in future.

“The way he pitches, obviously, is electric,” Michael Busch said, “but the way he handles himself and the way he goes about it on the mound, there’s a reason he’s an All-Star. I think there’ll be plenty more for him to come.”