The Baltimore Orioles announced this past Monday the signing of NPB legend Tomoyuki Sugano to a one-year contract worth $13 million.
The decorated former Yomiuri Giant is a two-time Japanese Cy Young winner, three-time MVP and eight-time Japan League All-Star. With the Giants, Sugano posted a 136-74 record, 2.43 ERA and 1,585 strikeouts.
After posting and not signing in 2020, Sugano lands with the Birds at the spry age of 35. So what makes him valuable to the Orioles?
Let’s dive in on this edition of Battery Breakdown.
PITCH ARSENAL
Sugano sports a six-pitch mix: A four-seam fastball (26%), cutter (21%), slider (20%), splitter (16%), sinker (9%) and curveball (8%). The newest Oriole is not going to come in and blow pitches by batters, normally keeping his fastball in the low 90’s.
His strength comes in his command. You will see him focus on going deep into ball games by painting the outer thirds of the zone and focusing on missing away. You will only see him attack the middle third when way behind in the count.
His bread and butter is his cutter/slider combo. When spotted well, you will see Sugano mirror his cutter look to his slider for later in the count. This is a recent emphasis to his arsenal, as his first-pitch cutter percentage went from 19% to 26% and his two-strike slider percentage increased from 18 to 20% last season.
To emphasize effectiveness, his slider whiff rate jumped from 20% to 25% last season. Also, Sugano leans on his plus splitter to throw off hitters later in the count as his strikeout pitch.
MLB EXPERIENCE
Some fans are questioning Sugano’s ability to translate his stuff to Major League Baseball.
Although the sample size is small, we actually have seen Sugano face off against the United States in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, as he went six innings and allowed just one run on three hits and posting six strikeouts.
This US lineup featured the likes of Orioles legend Adam Jones, prime Christian Yelich and mainstay All-Star Nolan Arenado, just to name a few of the talent. This small sample size shows that Sugano will not have a problem fitting into the big leagues.
PROJECTION
Sugano is on the tail-end of his illustrious career but still has enough in the tank to be a mainstay on the Orioles’ pitching staff. He will not light up the radar gun but will eat up innings for the Birds and be reliable, barring injury.
I don’t believe he came to the States after his historic career overseas as a top of the rotation pitcher to be slotted in the bullpen. However, this is not and can not be a Corbin Burnes replacement.
This move can be a complement to a top-of-the-rotation addition. I project him to be a back-end of the rotation arm behind Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez throughout the entirety of the 2025 season.
Player Comparison: Paul Blackburn, Masahiro Tanaka
What are your thoughts on Tomoyuki Sugano and his fit with the ball club? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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