Japanese star pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano is heading to the MLB

The next great Japanese pitcher is coming to the United States next season.

According to ESPN, right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano will become an international free agent with Major League Baseball, paving the way for him to join a big league club this winter.

Sugano is one of the best players to come out of Japan in recent years.

The soon-to-be 35-year-old is coming off one of the best seasons of his career, posting a 15-3 record with a 1.67 ERA while striking out 111 batters and walking just 16 in 156 ⅔ innings.

In 12 Nippon Professional Baseball seasons, Sugano is 136-74 with a sparkling 2.43 ERA.

He is a two-time winner of the Sawamura Award – the NPB equivalent of the Cy Young Award – and has won the ERA title four times.

Sugano is the rare thrower with six reliable throws.

He averages 92 mph with his four-seam fastball and mixes in a two-seam fastball.

Sugano also boasts a cutter and a slider while mixing in a splitter and a curveball.

He joins a long list of Japanese pitchers who have reached the major leagues in recent years, following Shohei Ohtani, Yu Darvish, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Kodai Senga and Shota Imanaga, among many others.

However, Sugano may not be the biggest name to come out of Japan this offseason.

Flamethrower Roki Sasaki, who is just 22 years old, is also expected to come to the MLB this winter if his team decides to sign him.

Sasaki, described as the best Japanese young player since Ohtani, requested a position last offseason, although it was reportedly unlikely that the Chiba Lotte Marines would accept his request.

In 2024, he had another dominant season for the Marines with a 2.35 ERA over 111 innings.