Cade Horton is not coming back this year.
Justin Steele is not coming back as a starting pitcher this year.
Ben Brown is probably not coming back as a starting pitcher this year.
Jameson Taillon is coming back today, but there’s no guarantee he’ll turn a corner on his performance so far this year.
Edward Cabrera is expected back next month, but there’s no guarantee of that health or performance.
Believe it or not, I could keep going, but I think you get the point I’m making: the Chicago Cubs starting rotation, as it exists today, has to BALL OUT the rest of the year and into the postseason if the team is going to succeed. Yes, we hope there are other impacts coming – including at the Trade Deadline – but more than anything else, the Cubs need the guys making starts right now to be very good.
That’s why it was especially heartening to see the Very Good Version of Shota Imanaga yesterday against the Twins:
a shutout sunday for shota. ? pic.twitter.com/evy2lu6mTg
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 19, 2026Shota Imanaga's ERA is 3.9 after 7 shutout innings yesterday (115 IP). When he's locating fastballs up and splitters down, he's one of the best at getting guys to chase. Needs to continue limiting the long ball. Here's all of Shota's whiffs from his Twins start. pic.twitter.com/JgPCsiAOc9
— Brendan Miller (@brendan_cubs) July 20, 2026Over his last 7 starts (39.0 IP), Imanaga has posted a 2.31 ERA, a 3.66 FIP, and, critically has a perfectly acceptable 1.15 HR/9.
We can discuss what happens in the postseason when we get there, but for now, this is the guy the Chicago Cubs need Shota Imanaga to be. Not merely serviceable. They need him to frequently own when he is starting, in large part because the days where he can give the Cubs 7.0 innings means the bullpen is exposed for just 2.0 innings … which, in turn, means they’re all the more fresh to cover the innings the other starting pitchers cannot.
One eensy weensy tiny thing to watch in the starts ahead: Shota Imanaga’s velocity was down a good 1/1.5 mph across the board yesterday. Maybe it was just a weird, one-time blip, and he did throw 99 pitches. But the velocity was down to begin with (as opposed to it fading as the pitch count climbed), and it was by FAR his lowest fastball velocity in a start this year. Given how correlated his success is to being able to stay in that 92 mph range (as opposed to 90, where he’s been when at his worst), this is something we do have to watch. Again hopefully a weird, one-time blip.
"It starts with Shota today with 7 great innings. Just on the attack, lots of strikes. Split-finger was excellent today. Any time you get 7 innings from your starter you're in good shape."Shota set the tone today ? pic.twitter.com/dF5iDFxoIw
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) July 19, 2026Hence then, the article about shota imanaga gave the cubs exactly what they needed and he needs to keep on giving it was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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