Astros may have already replicated their Yusei Kikuchi blueprint with Tatsuya Imai
It wasn’t very lengthy after the Houston Astros’ commerce for Yusei Kikuchi — a deal nearly everybody hated — earlier than it started to pay dividends. After making some minor adjustmentsKikuchi shortly turned one of many Astros’ greatest pitchers and a key cog throughout their playoff push. As it seems, the Astros may have already pulled a really related trick with Tatsuya Imai — certainly one of their prime offseason acquisitions.
Everyone already knew the Astros had been going to read heavily on Imai after signing him this previous offseason. There had been some issues that his arsenal would not translate in opposition to MLB hitters, however his efficiency this spring (to this point, anyway) has tamped down a lot of these fears within the short-term.
As it seems, that may not simply be Imai being Imai and the remainder of the world realizing it. According to an article from the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Young, Imai made a change to his delivery with the Astros’ help, and it instantly unlocked extra velocity and even nastier stuff.
Tatsuya Imai’s adjustment may find yourself making him higher than the Astros thought
It’s nonetheless just a little unclear whether or not Imai got here up with the adjustment himself and the crew agreed, or if the experimentation began at Houston’s suggestion. However, what we all know is that the change concerned him being extra environment friendly to the plate whereas utilizing a mound that’s totally different from what he’s used to.
Imai started toying with the modifications again in Japan and continued the method this spring. MLB mounds are typically steeper than these utilized in Japan, and that meant Imai knew he wanted to adapt.
Understandably, the Astros appear to be thrilled with the result to this point. Houston supervisor Joe Espada went on the report to say, “It looked like he sees the end of spring coming, and he’s getting ready for the season. Just overpowering stuff.” Hard to get a more ringing endorsement than that.
Of course, that is spring coaching we’re speaking about, and Imai’s success in MLB goes to be dictated by how he pitches in actual video games. However, everything Imai is doing is passing the eye test proper now, and there have already been notable good points this spring. Given Imai’s willingness to adapt and enhance, this may solely be the start.
