One of the primary reasons the Houston Astros were able to sneak in and sign Tatsuya Imai at the last minute was the conflicted projections for the Japanese right-hander. Early offseason predictions suggested that Imai was going to be a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher upon his arrival, but as teams looked over his profile, those projections proved to be a reach.
Still, at 27 years old with impressive swing-and-miss stuff in Japan, it makes sense as to why the Astros took a gamble on Imai. If there was a team that was going to get the most out of Imai, it would be Houston.