Person of Interest: Rumoured Blue Jays target Tomoyuki Sugano

A dearth of high-level starting pitching available on the open market this MLB off-season resulted in increased attention on Tomoyuki Sugano, one of the most successful pitchers in Japan’s NPB.

His team, the Yomiuri Giants of the NPB’s Central League, posted the starting pitcher in December, making him available to field offers from interested MLB teams.

Sugano appears on the verge of making a decision whether or not to make the move to North America, with the Toronto Blue Jays among a handful of teams reportedly vying for his services.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported this past weekend that the Giants offered Sugano a four-year contract that includes three opt-outs in case he can’t come to terms on a deal with an MLB club this year but wants to try again in the future.

The deadline for Sugano to sign with an MLB team is Thursday at 5 p.m. EST., so with that in mind here’s a little more on the coveted starter.

Name: Tomoyuki Sugano
Team: Yomiuri Giants
Position: Starting pitcher
Throws: Right
Bats: Right
Age: 31
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 198 pounds
From: Kanagawa, Japan

NPB stats, accomplishments jump off the page

Sugano has a career 101-49 record, 2.32 ERA and 1,214 strikeouts in his eight seasons with the Giants. These numbers are not too dissimilar to the numbers Masahiro Tanaka (99-35, 2.30 ERA, 1,238 strikeouts) and Kenta Maeda (97-68, 2.39 ERA, 1,233 strikeouts) had during their respective NPB careers. Both Tanaka and Maeda have thrived at the MLB level since leaving Japan.

Sugano was named Central League MVP in 2014 and won back-to-back Sawamura Awards as the top NPB starting pitcher in 2017 and ’18.

Following an injury-plagued 2019 campaign in which he posted career-worst numbers, Sugano bounced back with a 14-2 record and 1.97 ERA in 137.1 innings of work during NPB’s COVID-shortened 2020 season en route to winning his second career MVP award.

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Delayed start of NPB career after holding out

Sugano had a sterling career at Tokai University – is going 37-4 with a 0.57 ERA impressive enough for you? – but his NPB career got off to a somewhat contentious start after the highly touted prospect refused to play for the team that selected him in the draft.

The Nippon-Ham Fighters selected Sugano with their top pick in 2011 despite Sugano stating prior to the draft he wished to play for the Giants, which were and still are managed by his uncle, Tatsunori Hara, who is a former Central League MVP himself.

Sugano declined to play for the Fighters and re-entered the 2012 draft, where he was selected by the Giants and his Yomiuri tenure officially began.

Scouting report

Read any breakdown of Sugano’s strengths and you’ll see he’s regularly lauded for his command and versatile pitch selection.

His four-seam fastball is his most-used pitch, followed by his slider then splitter. He also occasionally mixes in a two-seam fastball, cutter and curveball. His fastball only tops out in the low 90s, but his precision makes up for a lack of heat.

Sugano has at times been compared to Tanaka, Maeda and Yu Darvish, another former NPB MVP, and the consensus is he projects as a reliable mid-rotation MLB starter.

Ted Baarda of Sports Info Solutions mentioned in his detailed breakdown that he also sees some Johnny Cueto in Sugano.

“He primarily throws his fastball on the outside corner with precision and works his other pitches off that,” Baarda analyzed. “Against righties he will throw the slider on the outside corner or start it there and let it break off the plate. Due to the late break of the slider it tunnels well with the fastball. Against lefties he locates the splitter on the outside corner consistently, which also pairs well with his four-seamer, and he will mix in the inside slider to keep hitters honest. …

“Sugano is the most accomplished pitcher in the world who has yet to appear in MLB.”

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