"His strike-throwing has never been in question, nor has his propensity for giving up homers, but he started making far too many mistakes last season. That has been the case this spring as well, with opponents finding more barrels than you'd like to see."
"Questions about Imanaga's ability to get back to something more like his 2024 season have only gotten louder with Jameson Taillon's alarming performance to date. This rotation doesn't feature a lot of workhorses with impeccable health histories, either, so the Cubs really need those guys at the bottom to pull their weight."
"Manoah finished third in Cy Young voting following a sophomore campaign in which he posted a 2.24 ERA over 31 starts, showing near-pinpoint control and keeping the ball in the yard."
The Cubs face scheduling conflicts with a late game coinciding with the WBC championship. Shota Imanaga takes the mound seeking consistency after recent starts where he allowed three earned runs each. His control remains reliable, but he has been prone to home runs and made excessive mistakes last season, a pattern continuing this spring with opponents making solid contact. The rotation lacks depth and durability, making Imanaga's performance critical. The Cubs lineup includes Michael Busch at first, Nico Hoerner at second, Ian Happ in left, Dansby Swanson at short, and Michael Conforto in right, with Carson Kelly catching. The Angels switched their starter from Mitch Farris to Alek Manoah, a former Toronto prospect who won Cy Young consideration in 2022 before declining.
#cubs-pitching #shota-imanaga #spring-training-performance #rotation-depth-concerns #wbc-scheduling-conflict
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