Chris Welsh

His low three-quarters slot borders on sidearm and creates a unique approach angle to the plate that adds deception and keeps hitters off balance. He throws four pitches, but his primary mix consists of a four-seam fastball, slider and splitter. The four-seamer sits 95-97 mph, touching 98-99 at peak with a flat plane of approach and heavy armside run. His fastball is particularly effective when located in the upper third of the zone and has been successful at generating swings and misses.Imai's best pitch is his slider, which is his primary swing-and-miss weapon. The gyro slider sits 85-87 mph, touching 88-89 with late downshift that creates unique armside movement. The combination of Imai's low arm slot, above-average velocity and late armside break make his slider a unique offering. The splitter is Imai's third pitch, and it features good vertical separation off the fastball. It gets heavy armside run, working as a swing-and-miss pitch against lefthanded hitters. Imai also threw a curveball around 2% of the time in 2025 that featured spin rates in the 2,500-2,600 rpm range and around 8-9 inches of sweep. There's also a real possibility the Astros add a sweeper to his arsenal.