The Already-Unhittable Shota Imanaga Says He Has Multiple Pitches He Hasn't Even Thrown Yet
Shota Imanaga has been nothing short of phenomenal since joining the Chicago Cubs this season, but according to the man himself, he's just getting started. He claims that he has a few pitches in his arsenal that he hasn't even thrown yet.
That noise you just heard was every hitter in the NL Central shouting ‘damn it’ at the exact same time.
Imanaga, alongside his translator Edwin Stanberry, recently joined ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ for what could be the best interview of the MLB season thus far. One of the many memorable moments came when McAfee asked the 30-year-old pitcher why he thinks he's found so much instant success since arriving in Chicago.
Imanaga shared an honest comment before essentially warning the rest of the MLB he's got more in the tank.
"If I'm being honest, I'm pretty surprised of the results I've had so far, so I really can't answer that," Imanaga said through his translator.
"I have a couple of pitches that I haven't thrown yet, so when the situation does come up that I need them, then I can pull them out."
Speaking of pitches, McAfee asked Imanaga what pitch he'd throw him if he were in the box to which he replied, "probably a fastball near the face."
READ: Cubs Pitcher Shota Imanaga Remains Unhittable
Despite only having nine career starts in the MLB to his name, Imanaga is turning into must-watch whenever he steps onto the bump. Now, he's teasing new pitches the world hasn't seen him throw yet, so the man may be a marketing genius as well.
Imanaga is sitting on a perfect 5-0 record at this point of the year to go along with an MLB-best 0.84 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP, which is the fifth-best in The Show. He's given up five or fewer hits in seven of his nine appearances and struck out 58 hitters along the way.