Cubs ace Shota Imanaga gets the praise he deserves from an unlikely source

The Chicago Cubs may have made the best free agent signing this past winter, based on early returns. While the Los Angeles Dodgers nabbed Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Cubs set their focus on Shota Imanaga, a left-handed pitcher for Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) Yokohama DeNA BayStars. Signing Imanaga to a four-year, $53 million proved to be a steal thus far, considering how dominant he had been when taking the pitcher's mound.

Through the first three starts, Imanaga hadn't given up a single earned run, and for the most part, even after giving up earned runs in three of his next four starts, held a superb ERA. Entering Monday, Imanaga had a 1.08 ERA, facing a tough Atlanta Braves batting order.

Imanaga pitched five full innings, recording eight strikeouts and three walks while surrendering zero earned runs on seven hits. With that, Imanaga's ERA dropped down to 0.96 on the year.

After the game, Imanaga not only received the usual praise from his Cubs teammates but also from Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr.

“He pitched really well,” said Acuña Jr. said via translator, h/t MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. “He’s a tremendous pitcher. You have to give him all of the credit.”

Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. heaps praise on Cubs starter Shota Imanaga

One of the best hitters in all of baseball, who won the NL MVP award last year, giving praise to Imanaga, a first-year rookie. Not bad at all.

Imanaga faced off against Acuña three times on Monday. In the bottom of the first inning, Acuña was walked on five pitches, as Imanaga struggled to find the strike zone. But the pitcher settled in, as evidenced in the bottom of the third when he struck out Acuña on five pitches, with the star outfielder swinging and missing on a 93.1 mph four-seam fastball down the middle of the plate. In the fourth inning, Acuña faced a 3-1 count, but was tempted by a 92.9 mph four-seam fastball down the middle, but flew out to right fielder Seiya Suzuki.

Despite not getting the win, this was a good start by Imanaga, showcasing that he is undoubtedly going to get All-Star buzz, and potentially earn some calls for the NL Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards if he keeps it up. Plus, he earned the respect of one of baseball's best players. That goes a long way.

Imanaga is next slated to pitch on Saturday, May 18, against the rival Pittsburgh Pirates.