Mets' Kodai Senga, Cubs' Shota Imanaga made same crucial change for 2026 MLB season

The New York Mets' Kodai Senga and the Chicago Cubs' Shota Imanaga came to MLB from Japan's NPB with a lot of hype.

But by the 2025 season, both had encountered some struggles, and they entered this year hoping to take steps back in the right direction.

It's still early, but one of the biggest pitching developments of the early 2026 MLB campaign applies to both Senga and Imanaga -- their velocities are up.

Senga is throwing his four-seam fastball 2.0 miles per hour faster than a season ago, up to 96.7 MPH.

"Senga struggled with his fastball in 2025: It was his least valuable pitch, with a -6 run value," MLB.com's Jared Greenspan wrote in a new article on Wednesday. "The opposition hit .281 with a .547 SLG against it, taking advantage of subpar velocity and spotty command. Through two starts, Senga is reaping the benefits of one of the largest year-to-year velo jumps in baseball. He averaged 97.4 mph on his four-seamer in his first start of the season, the fastest average fastball velocity in a single game in his career. And while his velocity dipped in his second start -- his heater sat at 96.0 mph -- that was still faster than the single-game average in any of his 22 starts in 2025. The oft-injured righty sure looks healthy."

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Imanaga's fastball hasn't gained quite as much velocity, but it was also slower to begin with.

After averaging 90.8 MPH on the heater in 2025, Imanaga has risen 1.4 miles per hour to 92.2 this season.

"Imanaga missed close to two months last season with a left hamstring strain and, when he returned, his fastball velocity lagged," Greenspan writes. "In a 17-start span to end 2025, Imanaga's four-seamer sat at 90.7 mph, down a full tick from his average fastball velocity as a rookie in '24. While velocity isn't king for the crafty left-hander, it at least played a role in Imanaga's down year: The four-seamer was Imanaga's least valuable pitch, with a run value of -10. It's been a different story so far in 2026. After his fastball averaged 92.5 mph in Spring Training, Imanaga has carried over that velocity bump into the regular season. He's thrown 12 pitches at least 93 mph, something he did only 13 times all of last year."

Both pitchers, as it turns out, could have major roles in trying to help their respective team unseat the Dodgers in the National League. Improvements like these velocity growths can be the type of X-factor that makes a big difference in the long run.

Obviously, Senga and Imanaga have to keep the velocity up and prove it's not a short-lived trend. If they do, that's great news for the Mets and Cubs.

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