Tatsuya Imai has definitely figured something out and now the Astros look like geniuses

Things have settled down for the Houston Astros and Tatsuya Imai. The Astros still have some larger questions that need to be answered before the trade deadline, but Imai is finally trending in the right direction.

Of course, it took the Astros going back to the drawing board with their big-ticket addition to get to this point. Imai struggled out of the gate with the Astros this season, leading to speculation (largely based on his comments) that the 28-year-old was regretting his decision. There was an odd injury in April when nothing was physically wrong with him, but the Astros didn't exactly have a plan for him.

It's only been three months, but it's been in a journey. While Imai's results since his return on May 12 have been uneven, there's reason to be believe he's taking a step forward.

Against the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers in consecutive starts, Imai flashed being the top-of-the-rotation pitcher the Astros have always believed he could be. He went six inning in each starts, giving up three runs on eight hits and only one walk. But what truly should have the Astros excited about what's out is how dominant Imai looked. He racked up 21 strikeouts across those two starts.

Now, it needs to be stated that facing American League Central opponents in consecutive starts isn't exactly a daunting task. Both the Guardians and Tigers are near the bottom of the league when it comes to runs scored this season.

Astros may have finally perfected Tatsuya Imai's gameplan

Of course, this is the same Imai who has been ambushed by the Los Angeles Angels, Kansas City Royals, and Seattle Mariners in the past. The fact that he strung together two consecutive starts where he was the man in charge is certainly better than anything he's flashed previously.

As for what triggered the success, Imai is relying heavily on his four-seam fastball and his slider. Of his 89 pitches against the Guardians, 41 of them were sliders, 33 were fastballs, and 15 were splitters. Against the Tigers, he threw 46 fastballs and 46 sliders, while only going to his splitter four times.

The impression is that the Astros have finally wound a pitch mix that works for Imai. If that's the case, figuring out how to make Imai succeed would be an important box to check ahead of the deadline. The Astros are still intent on buying at the deadline, but if Imai is a top-of-the-rotation pitcher moving forward, that could allow Dana Brown to prioritize adding another outfielder instead of a starting pitcher.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow