Shota Imanaga is crashing the MLB awards party.
The Cubs’ rookie starter has hit the ground running after coming over from Japan last offseason, and it appears some hardware could be coming his way in Year 1.
Imanaga has gone 5-0 with a 0.78 ERA through his first six starts, becoming the first MLB player since at least 1901 to post those numbers to open a career.
He leads all qualified pitchers in ERA, while ranking top 10 in WHIP (0.75), batting average against (.172) and K/BB (8.75).
The southpaw’s amazing start has launched him to the top of the National League Rookie of the Year oddsboard at most major sportsbooks.
National League Rookie of the Year odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Shota Imanaga | +300 |
| Yoshinobu Yamamoto | +340 |
| Jared Jones | +550 |
| Michael Busch | +850 |
| Jackson Merrill | +1100 |
| Andy Pages | +1500 |
| Paul Skenes | 20/1 |
| Jackson Chourio | 20/1 |
| Jung Ho Lee | 20/1 |
After opening at +1100 to win the NL Rookie of the Year, which was tied for the fifth-best odds at FanDuel, Imanaga has taken over Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who has a 2.91 ERA through seven outings, as the favorite.
Yamamoto, a fellow Japanese pitcher who also came overseas last offseason, had been the prohibitive favorite to win the award since Spring Training.
Imanaga’s amazing first month in the big leagues even has him in the NL Cy Young mix.
He crashed the top five of the race (+1500) at FanDuel, trailing established starters in Zack Wheeler (+270), Tyler Glasnow (+550), Freddy Peralta (+1200) and Dylan Cease (+1200).
Just like he did in the Rookie of the Year race, Imanaga nudged past Yamamoto, who is +1600 to win the award, in the conversation.
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Imanaga was barely an afterthought in the Cy Young race before the season started. Caesars Sportsbook had Imanaga at 40/1 to win it before Opening Day.
If he can keep it up and win both awards, Imanaga would become just the second pitcher in MLB history to win the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards in the same season, joining Fernando Venezuela (1981).
