Tatsuya Imai
28-Year-Old
2026 Stats
W-L
1-1
ERA
9.24
WHIP
2.05
K
16
SV
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
2026 Fantasy Outlook
Imai is looking to become the latest in a growing group of Japanese starting pitchers to successfully make the jump from NPB to MLB. He had an outstanding 2025 season for the Saitama Seibu Lions, with career bests in both ERA (1.92) and WHIP (0.89). NPB is in a dead-ball era right now, with league-wide ERA dropping to 3.01 last year, so those figures are a little less dominant than they may seem, but they came with career bests in both K% (27.8%) and BB% (7.0%). That latter is particularly notable, as Imai struggled significantly with control early in his career and had never previously produced a BB% better than 9.8%. Imai is undersized at 5-foot-11, but he has decent fastball velocity (94.8 mph), a five-pitch mix and a deceptive, low-slot delivery. If the command gains stick around, he should be able to get big-league hitters out, though don't expect dominance on the same level as Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who had three straight seasons with an ERA south of 1.70 before making the leap. Read Past Outlooks
Takes loss in return
Imai (1-1) allowed six runs on five hits, three walks and two hit batsmen while striking out three over four innings to take the loss Tuesday versus the Mariners.
Analysis
Imai missed a month due to right arm fatigue. He gave up two big knocks Tuesday, a two-run home run to Randy Arozarena in the second inning and a grand slam to Dominic Canzone in the fourth. Those were the first two homers Imai has allowed in his major-league career. He threw 46 of 80 pitches for strikes in his return from the injured list, so his workload may need to be monitored going forward. With a 9.24 ERA, 2.05 WHIP and 16:14 K:BB over 12.2 innings across four starts, Imai hasn't done much yet to impress in fantasy. He is tentatively projected to make his next start on the road in Minnesota.
Imai missed a month due to right arm fatigue. He gave up two big knocks Tuesday, a two-run home run to Randy Arozarena in the second inning and a grand slam to Dominic Canzone in the fourth. Those were the first two homers Imai has allowed in his major-league career. He threw 46 of 80 pitches for strikes in his return from the injured list, so his workload may need to be monitored going forward. With a 9.24 ERA, 2.05 WHIP and 16:14 K:BB over 12.2 innings across four starts, Imai hasn't done much yet to impress in fantasy. He is tentatively projected to make his next start on the road in Minnesota.
Pitching Stats
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2026
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
71
Last 10 Games
71
Last 5 Games
71
How many pitches does Tatsuya Imai generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does Tatsuya Imai generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2024
-34%
BAA vs LHP
2026
-34%
BAA vs LHP
| BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2024vs Left | .200 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 1 | |||
| Since 2024vs Right | .304 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 1 | |||
| 2026vs Left | .200 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 1 | |||
| 2026vs Right | .304 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 1 | |||
| 2025vs Left | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2025vs Right | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2024vs Left | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2024vs Right | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | |||||||
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2024
-67%
ERA on Road
2026
-67%
ERA on Road
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2024Home | 13.50 | 2.25 | 6.2 | 9.5 | 9.5 | ||||
| Since 2024Away | 4.50 | 1.83 | 6.0 | 13.5 | 10.5 | ||||
| 2026Home | 13.50 | 2.25 | 6.2 | 9.5 | 9.5 | ||||
| 2026Away | 4.50 | 1.83 | 6.0 | 13.5 | 10.5 | ||||
| 2025Home | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2025Away | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2024Home | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2024Away | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | ||||||||
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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More Fantasy News
Back from IL
The Astros reinstated Imai (arm) from the 15-day injured list to start Tuesday's game against the Mariners, Julia Morales of Space City Home Network reports.
Analysis
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Rejoining rotation Tuesday
Imai (arm) will be reinstated from the 15-day injured list to start Tuesday against the Mariners, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Analysis
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Next start will be in majors
Astros general manager Dana Brown said Tuesday that Imai (arm) will rejoin the rotation next week versus the Mariners, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Analysis
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Rehab moving to Triple-A
Imai (arm) will make his next rehab appearance Tuesday or Wednesday with Triple-A Sugar Land, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Analysis
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Expected to log another rehab start
Imai (arm) will make another start during his minor-league rehab assignment in the coming week, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Analysis
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Injury concern after Friday's start
Brian McTaggart of MLB.com relays that Imai travelled back to Houston on Saturday and could be dealing with an injury.
Analysis
Imai recorded just one out against the Mariners on Friday, when he allowed three runs on one hit, four walks and a hit batsman. He may have picked up an injury in the process, which McTaggart believes is why Imai went back to Houston to undergo tests by medical staff, though the Astros have yet to make an official announcement. Imai has tossed just 8.2 innings across his first three major-league starts, allowing seven runs on seven hits and 11 walks while striking out 13 batters in that span.
Imai recorded just one out against the Mariners on Friday, when he allowed three runs on one hit, four walks and a hit batsman. He may have picked up an injury in the process, which McTaggart believes is why Imai went back to Houston to undergo tests by medical staff, though the Astros have yet to make an official announcement. Imai has tossed just 8.2 innings across his first three major-league starts, allowing seven runs on seven hits and 11 walks while striking out 13 batters in that span.