Spencer Arrighetti nugget from spring training should have Astros fans excited

One of the big storylines for the Houston Astros during the 2026 season will be how Tatsuya Imai is able to adapt to life in the big leagues. There's the on-field component, sure. The NPB is a lower level of competition with depressed offenses, so while it seems like Imai has plenty of runway to translate last year's 1.92 ERA into something representative of a No. 2 starter in the MLB, we can't know for sure until he takes the mound for real.

The on-field adaptation is one thing, but what can be lost in the shuffle is the culture clash that can ensue. Everything from being far from family, new and different food, language barriers, and getting to know an entirely new set of teammates can create a mental and emotional strain, which can then spill out into in-game performance.

To the Astros credit, they're already working hard to bridge the cultural divide. The team has set up a "word of the day" board featuring a new word each day that is translated into each of the four languages — English, Spanish, Japanese, and Mandarin — that are spoken in the clubhouse.

It's broken the ice and given young Houston hurlers Spencer Arrighetti and AJ Blubaugh the confidence to really put in the time and bond with Imai. Especially in Arrighetti's case, it could have a real payoff on the field.

Tatsuya Imai could help Spencer Arrighetti unlock a new gear for the Astros during spring training

Blubaugh has taken to Imai and really tried to form a bond. He enjoys asking his new teammate (and his interpreter) how to say various phrases in Japanese, and was giddy to learn that the word for "good morning," which is "ohayo," is pronounced similarly to "Ohio," the state that Blubaugh is from.

Meanwhile, Arrighetti has been more business-oriented in his interactions. After a frustrating and injury-plagued sophomore season, the 26-year-old is trying to get back on track and stand out in a crowded sea of arms battling for a rotation spot.

To that end, he's been asking Imai a lot about his slider, which some believe to be his best pitch, while also taking note of his preparation.

“I’ve been asking him about the culture there, the way they treat Spring Training and a little bit about his slider,” Arrighetti said. “He’s obviously a very, very hard worker, and he’s really good at what he does, and he’s really process-oriented in what he knows works for him, and I always think it’s cool to see that with the guys. I’ll ask his translator about a thing or two here or there, and I’ll get an answer from [Imai] about it. It’s cool.”

Arrighetti's rookie season was a bit of a mixed bag. There was the good, like his superb 27.1% strikeout rate. There was the concerning, like his 10.3% walk rate. And then, there was the bad, which was his 1.30 HR/9 which jumped to 1.53 in the 35 1/3 innings he threw last year.

Arrighetti could be an X-factor for Houston this season if he can put it all together. He already has a deep arsenal, with a four-seam fastball, curveball, cutter, sweeper, changeup, and a newly introduced sinker. His most effective pitches during his rookie campaign were his cutter and his curve, with run values of five and three, respectively. If he can add a slider to the mix to split the difference between the two, it could vault him up considerably.

Spring training is the time for playing around with new pitches and tweaking things in the repertoire, so it will be interesting to see if Arrighetti implements anything he's learned from Imai into his arsenal. If he does, we'll be excited to see how it plays.