Tokai University in MLB | Week of Sept. 20–26
Tomoyuki Sugano wrapped up his 2026 MLB season the way most of it went — with some fight, some frustration, and plenty of unanswered questions about what comes next.
The Colorado Rockies right-hander made two starts in the final week of the season, and both told the same story that has defined his year: enough moments of competence to suggest he belongs, and enough trouble to explain why his ERA finished at 5.37.
The Sunday Start That Set Him Off
Sugano opened the week against the Seattle Mariners on Sept. 20, delivering arguably his cleaner outing — five innings, one earned run, five strikeouts in a 2-1 Rockies loss. By the numbers, it was a quality start in everything but the official definition. But being pulled after five innings clearly didn't sit well with him. Sugano didn't hide his frustration afterward, publicly voicing his displeasure with the hook, a rare flash of emotion from a pitcher who has spent much of the season grinding through adversity in relative silence. For a veteran who came to Colorado hoping to recapture the dominance he showed in Japan and during his earlier MLB stint, being managed out of a game he felt he owned stung.
Chasing Win No. 13
By Friday, Sept. 25, Sugano took the mound at Chicago against the White Sox in what amounted to a season finale, with three games left on the schedule and win No. 13 dangling as a personal milestone. He gave the Rockies 6.2 innings — his longest outing of the week — and struck out five again, but surrendered four earned runs in a 6-1 loss. Win No. 13 didn't come. He'll finish the year somewhere in the 12-win range on a Rockies team that struggled mightily, which makes the raw win total both a testament to his durability and a misleading headline for a season that was more complicated than that.
The Bigger Question: What's Next?
The end of the season doesn't close the book — it opens a new, uncertain chapter. Sugano's future in Colorado is very much in the air, with the Rockies facing real decisions about how to construct a pitching staff that gives them a path forward. Sports Illustrated's season-grade breakdown of Sugano's 2026 campaign frames the question bluntly: did he do enough to earn another year in a Rockies uniform?
The answer isn't obvious. A 5.37 ERA doesn't inspire confidence, but Sugano did take the ball consistently, eat innings on a team that badly needed rotation length, and flash the command and craft that made him an intriguing signing in the first place. At 36, he's not rebuilding a career — he's trying to sustain one. Whether Colorado decides he's still part of that equation, or whether Sugano himself looks elsewhere, should become clearer as the offseason begins.
For Tokai University fans watching from Japan, it's been a season worth tracking — and one that isn't fully resolved yet.
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