Shota Imanaga, 30, a left-hander for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball, is knocking on the big league door.

Citing sources, Major League Baseball columnist John Morosi reported on July 7 that Imanaga is looking to make the big leagues this offseason.

The former No. 1 overall pick of Yokohama in the 2015 draft has made 161 career appearances in Nippon Professional Baseball, posting a 64-49 record with a 3.18 ERA.바카라사이트

This season, he is 7-3 with a 2.72 ERA in 18 games and 122 1/3 innings pitched. He has a 0.981 WHIP, 1.1 hits per nine innings, 1.4 walks and 10.4 strikeouts.

His strikeout-to-walk ratio of 7.47 is the best it’s been since his debut. This is due to fewer walks.

The three-quarter pitcher averages 146.5 mph with a four-seam fastball, 137 mph slider, 134 mph changeup, and 116 mph curveball.

He represented Japan in the Premier12 in 2019 and the World Baseball Classic in 2023.

With Imanaga’s decision, he joins Yoshinobu Yamamoto as the second Japanese starting pitcher to reach the big leagues this offseason.

If Imanaga signs with the big leagues, the Yokohama organization will receive a percentage of the posting fee based on the size of the contract.

If the contract total is $25 million or less, they will receive 20 percent of the amount, if it is more than $25 million but less than $50 million, they will receive an additional 17.5 percent of the excess, and if it is more than $50 million, they will receive an additional 15 percent of the excess.