Cubs' Tommy Hottovy: It's an 'amazing accomplishment' for Shota Imanaga to earn All-Star honor as a rookie

(670 The Score) Cubs rookie left-hander Shota Imanaga was selected to the MLB All-Star Game next Tuesday in Texas, a salute to his stellar first season in the big leagues.

The 30-year-old Imanaga is 7-2 with a 3.16 ERA and 1.11 WHIP over 16 starts this season, establishing himself as a reliable frontline starter during his first season with the Cubs after pitching for years in his native Japan.

Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy views Imanaga’s All-Star selection as an especially notable accomplishment given that this is his first year playing professional baseball in the United States.

“We’re all excited for Shota getting the selection and going to get to showcase himself, his talent, his personality on the big stage,” Hottovy told the Mully & Haugh Show on Wednesday morning. “He has been as advertised since he’s come over here. It’s one thing to talk about a guy in his rookie season, having the start he had. You see people come up all the time, they’re rookies and have impact. But to also do that in a foreign country, foreign language, a place you’ve never really been, away from a lot of the comforts you’re normally used to having, that’s an amazing accomplishment when you think about where he’s come from and what he’s doing right now.

“If he just continues to get better and improve, he’s not complacent in what he’s doing. He knows there are going to be bumps along the way. But he’s a very consistent person.

“He is a consistent person, the personality, the way he goes about his business, he is as consistent as they come with his attitude, what you can control.”

Imanaga will start for the Cubs against the Orioles on Wednesday evening in the second game of their three-game set at Camden Yards.