Tomoyuki Sugano's first spring start shows how he can help Orioles this season

When the Baltimore Orioles signed veteran Japanese right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano to a one-year, $13 million deal back in December, two general schools of thought emerged. Some believed Sugano, a three time MVP in Japan, could emerge as a dark horse top tier pitcher for the Orioles with his experience, past success, and pitching knowledge. Others feared that despite Sugano's success overseas, which depended less on velocity and more on pitching to contact, he would struggle to take shape in the states where velocity and strikeouts have become king.

Ultimately, Sugano's MLB experience likely lies somewhere in between these two scenarios. The Orioles signed Sugano for $13 million, at or below the going rate for a mid-to-back end starter. He will pitch to contact, neither walk nor strike out a lot of batters, and eat innings and give the Orioles a chance to win every time he takes the ball.

Sugano's Orioles' debut on Wednesday afternoon against the Pirates then went according to plan. Facing a lineup featuring several Pirates regulars (not surprising, seeing as they were the home team), including Bryan Reynolds, Ke'Bryan Hayes, Tommy Pham, and Andrew McCutchen, Sugano pitched to contact in two scoreless innings.

Although he did not strike anyone out, Sugano regularly induced harmless contact in recording his six outs: a shallow fly out from Hayes to right, a pop out, and four outs on the ground The first hit he allowed to Tommy Pham was a 60.7 mph slow roller down the third base line that went for an infield single. Overall, Sugano allowed two hits and a walk.

Rookie Japanese right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano pitched well in his Orioles debut this Spring

A multi-pitch pitcher, Sugano came as advertised, mixing his pitches effectively to shut out Pittsburgh. He threw six different pitches (28 total): cutter, four-seam fastball, changeup, slider, curveball, and sinker. As his fastball averaged a modest 92.4 miles per hour, Sugano gave the Orioles what they signed him up for: pitching to contact, keeping hitters off balance, and recording outs.

To be sure, any sweeping conclusions about Sugano's first start would be premature. Spring training, by its nature, creates small sample sizes that should serve as a reminder to avoid overreacting in Grapefruit League play. However, Sugano has been doing what he did on Wednesday afternoon for years: recording outs while not blowing people away with incredible "stuff."

For Sugano, there were no surprises on Wednesday. The Orioles hope that stays the same, as Sugano will be adjusting to pitching in a new league, on a new continent, with new teammates. The more things stay the same from Japan, the better.