Tomoyuki Sugano has shown, time and time again, that the Colorado Rockies can count him to go out and deliver a stellar start.
Tomoyuki Sugano has worked his way into the ace role for the Colorado Rockies' starting rotation. He has been able to put up 12 victories, which are about one-fourth of the team's total wins in the 2026 MLB season.
In fact, he might just be in the running for a team Most Valuable Player honor as well. He'll have competition for that with catcher Hunter Goodman, who has guided Sugano through most of his starts.
Entering Sunday's start against the Cleveland Guardians, Sugano is 12-6 overall with a 4.70 ERA in 22 starts. In 118.2 innings this season, Sugano has given up 123 hits, 65 runs (62 earned runs), and allowed 26 home runs.
He's walked 27 batters but struck out 69 and has a 1.26 WHIP.
Sugano has quite a pitching arsenal
Sugano has three main pitches that he relies on when on the mound. They are a split-finger fastball, four-seam fastball, and a sinker. He'll also toss in a cutter, sweeper, and slider some of the time, too, in looking to keep opposing batters guessing.
It seems like every single time that Sugano is on the mound, the Rockies feel like they have a chance to get a win. That's no accident because Sugano continues to show a dogged determination to get better start after start.
Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer probably cannot wait to see what Sugano does in a start. Having that eclectic combination of pitches makes Sugano not the easiest starting pitcher to figure out.
Will he be staff ace next season?
As this season comes to an end in a few weeks, Sugano might be securing his spot as the No. 1 pitcher in the Colorado rotation going into next season. If Schaeffer can watch Sugano finish strong, then there's no reason that Sugano cannot be in that role. Throw a little nifty curveball, too, in Sugano's arsenal.
Being able to go out on the mound and keep Colorado in ballgames is another aspect of Sugano's game that matters. The Rockies, despite their 50-77 overall record this season, do have some hitters that can produce. Goodman, Mickey Moniak, Jake McCarthy, and others are able to come up and produce key hits in certain situations.
The Guardians are no pushovers at all. They are four games under .500 but are just a few games out of first place in the American League Central Division.
Getting a chance for Sugano to pick up an important win during the Guardians' series can lift the spirits of his teammates and himself.
So, Sugano gets the ball on Sunday. He knows what he needs to do from his end to push Colorado toward the win column.
