Astros may have already replicated their Yusei Kikuchi blueprint with Tatsuya Imai

It's working.

Eric Cole

Mar 11, 2026; Jupiter, Florida, USA; Houston Astros pitcher Tatsuya Imai (45) gestures as he walks off the mound against the Miami Marlins during the second inning at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images / Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

It wasn't very long after the the Houston Astros' trade for Yusei Kikuchi — a deal almost everyone hated — before it began to pay dividends. After making some minor adjustments, Kikuchi quickly became one of the Astros' best pitchers and a key cog during their playoff push. As it turns out, the Astros may have already pulled a very similar trick with Tatsuya Imai — one of their top offseason acquisitions.

Everyone already knew the Astros were going to lean heavily on Imai after signing him this past offseason. There were some concerns that his arsenal wouldn't translate against MLB hitters, but his performance this spring (so far, anyway) has tamped down many of those fears in the short-term.

As it turns out, that may not just be Imai being Imai and the rest 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' support, and it immediately unlocked more velocity and even nastier stuff.

Tatsuya Imai's adjustment could end up making him better than the Astros thought

It's still a little unclear whether Imai came up with the adjustment himself and the team agreed, or if the experimentation started at Houston's suggestion. However, what we know is that the change involved him being more efficient to the plate while using a mound that is different from what he is used to.

Imai began toying with the changes back in Japan and continued the process this spring. MLB mounds are generally steeper than those used in Japan, and that meant Imai knew he needed to adapt.

Understandably, the Astros seem to be thrilled with the outcome so far. Houston manager Joe Espada went on the record 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, this is spring training we are talking about, and Imai's success in MLB is going to be dictated by how he pitches in real games. However, everything Imai is doing is passing the eye test right now, and there have already been notable gains this spring. Given Imai's willingness to adapt and improve, this may only be the beginning.

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.