The Houston Astros have an exciting new pitcher this season in Japanese prospect Tatsuya Imai. Imai threw his first spring training session with his new teammates on Friday. After facing Houston star Jose Altuve, the new Astros pitcher realized he is officially a Major League Baseball pitcher.
“As soon as I started facing Jose, I was like, ‘Oh shoot, I’m actually in the big leagues,’” Imai said, per MLB.com.
Imai impressed the veteran Altuve. The new Astros hurler apparently gave Altuve just a taste of his repertoire.
“Really good,” Altuve said. “He threw me a slider that [you] couldn’t really see the spin. Nice and sharp. And then after that, a fastball. I saw two pitches. So, yeah, very good. Obviously, two pitches is not enough, I wish I could get more. But the first impression is really good. He’s going to help this team a lot.”
Imai signed with the Astros in January. He is one of several new MLB players in 2026 coming from Japan, including Chicago White Sox infielder Munetaka Murakami.
Tatsuya Imai has impressed with the Astros so far
Imai had lots of interest from MLB teams this offseason. He signed a three-year contract with Houston, worth $54 million. The hurler has already gotten the endorsement of his new coaches.
“It has a natural shape that backs up, doesn’t go left, even though it might have the spin that looks to a hitter like it will,” Astros pitching coach Josh Miller said about Imai's slider. “There were some weird swings against it, some foul balls where the ball got in on the hands a little bit. Where sliders will typically go down, away, it didn’t really do that. Just a unique pitch.”
Imai is still getting used to his new surroundings.
“He did say that he was a little nervous,” Miller said. “He’s been out watching the guys throw live the last few days to kind of see how it went. I think it made him a little more comfortable. It seemed like he was at ease on the mound, looked natural. Whatever nerves he had were kind of erased in the bullpen. He did well.”
Houston finished the 2025 regular season with a 87-75 record. The Astros finished second in the American League West. The club missed the MLB Playoffs.
Houston plays a spring training game on Saturday against the Washington Nationals.
