Comments from breakout Cubs ace should scare opposing hitters

Shota Imanaga wants you all to know that this isn’t even his final form yet.

The Chicago Cubs rookie star took part in a Thursday interview on “The Pat McAfee Show," appearing alongside his translator Edwin Stanberry.

During the interview, Imanaga (who has enjoyed a pristine first season in Major League Baseball thus far) made some comments that were probably enough to send a chill down the spine of opposing hitters.

“If I’m being honest, I’m pretty surprised by the success that I’ve had,” Imanaga said through his translator. “I still have a couple pitches that I haven’t thrown yet, and I’m waiting to pull them out.”

The 30-year-old Imanaga, a two-time All-Star in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), signed with the Cubs on a four-year, $53 million contract this past winter. To date this season, Imanaga has been not just one of baseball's best rookie pitchers but one of the very best pitchers in the entire league. He now owns a perfect 5-0 record with a magnificent 0.84 ERA and 58 strikeouts through nine starts (53 1/3 total innings pitched).

The lefty Imanaga has been achieving his success as he works mainly with a fastball and a splitter, as well as a little bit of a slider and a curveball. With Imanaga teasing some yet-to-be-thrown pitches in his arsenal beyond that (forkball? gyroball? eephus???), he has a lot of different ways to keep rival batters off balance. Granted, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for him, as he is still struggling to adjust to certain aspects of life in America.