Tatsuya Imai 6/25/26
LAB REPORTS
Tatsuya Imai Dominates the Tigers, Priority Add on the Waiver-Wire
Houston Astros 28-year-old right-hander Tatsuya Imai dominated the Tigers on Thursday, throwing six innings, allowing two hits, no earned runs, one walk, and 10 strikeouts. Imai has now delivered back-to-back quality starts and has racked up 21 strikeouts while allowing three earned runs over this two-game stretch (12 innings pitched), showcasing signs that he has figured something out. Let’s dive more into it below.
Imai has been a massive letdown at this point of the season overall, no denying that; it is evidenced by his 5.36 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, and 13.3 percent walk rate, but over these past few starts, he is starting to showcase why the Astros handed him a three-year, $54 million contract this offseason, coming over from the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team.
The most impressive thing about Imai over this two-game stretch has been his K:BB ratio, which has been 21:1. For a guy who showcased solid control in 2025 in the NPB league (7 percent walk rate), so far this season, he has not seen that translate over to the Astros this season (13.3 percent walk rate). Over the past two starts, it's extremely encouraging to see him showcase better control (one walk), all while racking up 37 whiffs and owning a rock-solid 13 percent SwStr rate on the season.
Back-to-back starts with double-digit strikeouts for Tatsuya Imai 🔥 pic.twitter.com/rDHFDcbePV
— MLB (@MLB) June 26, 2026
Imai still has a long way to go to show that he is a must-start player in fantasy, but at this point, he is a must-roster in 12-plus team formats after these past few starts. Fantasy managers should consider rostering Imai and see if he can continue to showcase this level of consistency moving forward.
Coming into the season, Imai was being drafted in the middle part of drafts (167.0 ADP), and after a minor injury and a handful of blow-up starts that got him demoted to the Minors for a few starts, he was likely dropped in most formats, allowing the opportunity to scoop him up off the waiver wire.
Up next for Imai is a tougher home matchup against the Minnesota Twins, who rank sixth in runs scored and ninth in home runs.
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