Whether it was via free agency or through trade, Coors Field isn’t usually an ideal landing spot for veteran starting pitchers. There are success stories, of course, but even those usually come with few wins and a ballooned ERA.
That’s why having three new veterans in the Rockies starting rotation this year was quite a surprise. An even better surprise is the promising performance of Tomoyuki Sugano 菅野 智之. While the sample size is small, Sugano is shaping up to be a good addition to the Rockies roster.
Sugano played and starred in Nippon Professional Baseball. During his 12-year career there, he was a three-time Central League MVP before coming to MLB in 2025. Sugano’s reasoning for coming to MLB is simple.
“Obviously, I wanted to play in the best place,” Sagano said last weekend through his interpreter Yuto Sakura. “Also, I wanted to test out how my skills translate.”
His 2025 season in Baltimore didn’t go as well as he’d hoped, as he went 10-10 in 30 starts with a 4.64 ERA and gave up an American League-leading 33 homers.
It’s been a different story for Sugano so far in 2026 with the Rockies, who signed the 36-year-old RHP in February to a one-year, $5.1 million deal. In two starts, Sugano is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA, nine strikeouts and only three walks in 10.2 innings.
That includes a quality start in his first appearance at Coors Field when he held the Phillies to one run on four hits with five strikeouts and a walk in six innings. True to his KPop Demon Hunters anthem walk-up song, Sugano was ‘Golden.’
Prior to his start, he wasn’t too worried about pitching at elevation. He also said his brief time at a higher altitude hadn’t disrupted his sleep or taxed his body, but he did admit it had only been three days.
“I’m actually quite excited. I tested some of my offspeed stuff in the bullpen,” Sugano said. “I know it drops a little bit more than other stadiums, and we’ve been having good conversations with the pitching coaches and staff, so I’m quite excited.”
That excitement turned into the Rockies first quality start of the season and prevented a home opening weekend sweep at the hands of the Phillies. He surrendered only one run on four hits with one walk and five strikeouts to earn the win.
He threw 78 pitches in the outing: 23 four-seam fastballs, 21 sliders/sweepers, 13 cutters, 12 splitters, five curveballs and four sinkers.
Due to his versatility and pitch mix, Sugano was able to overcome not having his best splitter.
“He was great. He mixed extremely well. He threw strikes. He did all the things we were talking about and looking for when we signed him,” manager Warren Schaeffer said after the Rockies 4-1 victory on April 5. “He did not have his split, which is one of his best pitches, today. He didn’t have the best feel for it, so he used the slider a lot, used the heater late, and just a good, solid mix that kept them off balance.”
A key factor in Sugano’s success is his 51.7% ground ball rate. He got eight groundouts against the Phillies in Denver, when he also threw 51 of his 78 pitches for strikes.
“The mix of pitch selection is definitely my strength, so I’m glad it worked out that way. But towards the end of the outing, my splitter was working, so that was also good,” Sugano said. “I wasn’t thinking too much about the environment, per se. I was trying to keep the ball down, get groundouts and get punchouts when I can. [I know] offspeed pitches move differently here, so I try to take advantage of that.”
While he’d never pitched at high altitude before (Sugano had faced the Rockies once, but it was in Baltimore last season), Sugano did bring experience playing at a hitter-friendly venue.
“The Tokyo Dome was definitely hitter-friendly. It’s a smaller stadium to begin with, and the ball flies. It has a tendency to fly in the Dome,” Sugano said. “For Japanese players, it’s well known that it’s a hitter-friendly ballpark.”
Sugano, the Rockies’ first Japanese pitcher since Mac Suzuki in 2001, had a busy spring. Outside of joining the Rockies in Scottsdale, he also pitched for Japan in the World Baseball Classic. In his lone start, he threw four scoreless innings with four hits, two strikeouts and no walks in a 4-3 win over Australia. Despite being new to the Rockies, he said he’s learning from his coaches and teammate Kyle Freeland, who he sought out for advice.
“He’s been here a very long time. He’s given me some advice on how to pitch here,” Sugano said. “Also, Alon [Leichman, the Rockies pitching coach], he’s been communicative throughout this process, and he’s been giving really good advice.”
Leichman believes Sugano has been a great addition to the team, especially since he and Sugano are both 36 years old.
“He’s my age, so I think it’s fun to have a guy like him around. You know, he sees a lot of things that most guys don’t, and he likes to express that. So it’s been good,” Leichman said. “He’s been a great clubhouse guy, he’s always super prepared, and what he did in Toronto really set an example for the rest of the team, too.”
While he wasn’t credited with the win, Sugano gave up one solo homer, with two hits, two walks and four strikeouts in a solid start of 4.2 innings in the Rockies first victory of the season, a 14-5 win over the Blue Jays on March 30.
In addition to learning to pitch at altitude, Sugano is also new to Leichman’s pitch suggesting. Like the other Rockies pitchers and catchers, he likes it.
“I’ve never experienced pitch calling from the dugout with my previous teams,” Sugano said. “But we have really good communication before the game and leading into the game, so I feel pretty confident about what we’re doing.”
Sugano is seeing early success, despite facing some heavy-hitting lineups in the Blue Jays and Phillies. That will be the case again today when Sugano will get his third start of the season tonight against Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis, Xander Bogaerts and the rest of the Padres.
On the Farm
Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes 6, El Paso Chihuahuas 1
Vimael Machín hit a grand slam in a six-run sixth inning to carry the Isotopes to victory on Thursday. Nicky Lopez added an RBI single and came around to score on a wild pitch in the sixth. Five pitchers combined to hold the Chihuahuas in check with Sammy Peralta picking up the win after giving up one run in two innings. Keegan Thompson started the game with four scoreless innings, while Collin Baumgartner, Seth Halvorsen and TJ Shook each added a scoreless frame. Zac Veen, Lopez and Chad Stevens posted two hits apiece.
Double-A: Reading Fightin’ Phils 3, Hartford Yard Goats 2, 10 innings
Austin Murr hit a walk-off, two-run homer to defeat the Yard Goats on Thursday night in Reading. Hartford took the lead in the first inning when Aidan Longwell hit a sac grounder to go up 1-0. Jake Brooks had an outstanding start, giving up just one run on a solo homer with 11 strikeouts in six innings. When it went to extra innings, Roc Riggio hit an RBI double to put the Yard Goats up 2-1. Unfortunately, the lead was short-lived. Benny Montgomery and Connor Capel each recorded two-hit nights.
High-A: Hillsboro Hops 6, Spokane Indians 4, 10 innings
Despite having a 4-1 lead, Spokane couldn’t hold it and the Hops completed the comeback with a walk-off, two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th. Alan Espinal hit an RBI triple, Ethan Hedges connected on a run-scoring double and Robert Calaz and Royneir Hernandez each drove in a run on singles to account for Spokane’s offense. Justin Loer earned a blown save when he gave up two runs in the bottom of the ninth. Hedges and Jacob Humphrey both had two-hit nights.
Low-A: Stockton Ports 5, Fresno Grizzlies 1
Stockton jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, continued to add to it throughout the game and came away with the victory. Roldy Brito hit an RBI double in the third inning to score Cameron Nelson for Fresno’s only run. The Grizzlies were held to four hits on the night and struck out eight times.
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