MESA, Ariz. — When left-hander Shota Imanaga takes the mound next month at the Tokyo Dome, as the Cubs open the season with a two-game series against the Dodgers, there will be fans in the stands who watched his rise in Nippon Professional Baseball.

Eight years with the Yokohama DeNa Baystars preceded his impressive rookie season in the major leagues, in which his success, expressive face and sense of humor made him a fast fan favorite in Chicago.

But the ever-humble Imanaga knows whom most fans will be there to see.

‘‘[Dodgers stars] Shohei Ohtani and [Yoshinobu] Yamamoto, I think they’re going to have a lot bigger cheers,’’ Imanaga said through an interpreter. ‘‘But I want to tell the Japanese fans that hopefully they could cheer me and [Cubs teammate] Seiya Suzuki on as much as they do with them.’’

OK, maybe matching the best baseball player in the world in terms of reception isn’t realistic. But he might as well ask.

Along with those four established Japanese major-leaguers on the Cubs and Dodgers, rookie right-hander Roki Sasaki signed with the Dodgers this offseason. The Cubs also pursued Sasaki, who was World Baseball Classic teammates with Imanaga. They got an in-person meeting but didn’t make the final three.

‘‘I didn’t really talk to him at all,’’ Imanaga said when he was asked whether he tried to persuade Sasaki to join the Cubs. ‘‘I’m just a guy on the outside in this situation. And it’s his decision.’’

Imanaga went through the posting process last offseason and landed with the Cubs. He was historically good through his first nine starts and went on to finish fifth in National League Cy Young voting and fourth in NL Rookie of the Year balloting. He had the best ERA (2.91) in the Cubs’ rotation and the fourth-best walk rate (4%) among qualified major-league pitchers. He exceeded even the Cubs’ expectations.

Imanaga’s humility, however, extends to his evaluation of last season.

‘‘I have to give up fewer home runs,’’ he said Monday. ‘‘I need to get my strikeout numbers higher. That means the quality of the starts is going to be better. So looking at all those, I figured out, ‘OK, this is what I need to work on for the next season.’ ’’

Imanaga cited his and Yamamoto’s wins above replacement off the top of his head. He had a 3.0 fWAR last season, compared with Yamamoto’s 2.8.

‘‘He threw less innings, but his WAR was pretty close to mine,’’ Imanaga said. ‘‘And looking at a guy like [Pirates phenom] Paul Skenes, his WAR was incredible.’’

Imanaga threw 173„ innings last season, while Yamamoto was limited to 90 because of a strained rotator cuff. In his comments, however, Imanaga didn’t give himself credit for staying healthy all season.

Skenes (4.3 fWAR) won NL Rookie of the Year after debuting with the Pirates on May 11 against the Cubs. Among rookie pitchers, however, Imanaga had the next-highest WAR.

‘‘That’s so refreshing to have a guy who’s had success and also wants to continue to get better but knows what his foundation is and what’s going to make him successful,’’ pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said.

After making a smooth transition to MLB and navigating myriad adjustments on and off the field, Imanaga will begin his sophomore campaign in his home country. And he has some ideas for those of his teammates who will be experiencing Japan for the first time.

‘‘There’s obviously sushi here [in the United States],’’ Imanaga said. ‘‘And I want my teammates, the staff, to try out sushi over there. And then they can compare and see the difference between the two.’’