All aboard the Tomoyuki Sugano hype train! (I won’t lie: I’ve only seen 47 seconds of this man throwing a bullpen session, and I’ve already bought my ticket.)
And why not? Backup catcher Gary Sánchez, who caught the Japanese righthander in a bullpen session two days ago, said “woah” a few times, responding to Sugano’s pitch movement and command. Orioles’ pitching coach Drew French described the 35-year-old as having “80 command” on the 20-80 scouting scale. That, to quote CC’s Tyler Young, “is as good as it gets, folks.”
For a guy with Sugano’s pedigree in the Nippon Professional Baseball league, the expectations on the Orioles’ new starter’s shoulders are rather modest, as his one-year, $13-million contract suggests.