Sugano signed a one-year, $13MM deal with Baltimore last offseason. He posted a 4.64 ERA across 30 outings. The righty got off to a solid start, putting up a 3.04 ERA through a dozen appearances, before falling off as the season went on. Sugano had an xFIP and a SIERA in the mid-4.00s during that stretch, so regression was coming.
An excellent 5.5% walk rate is Sugano's biggest calling card, but his other metrics have been much shakier. Both Sugano's strikeout rate (15.6%) and barrel rate (11.4%) rank only in the seventh percentile of all pitchers, and only seven pitchers have surrendered more home runs than Sugano's 28 big flies. There's still time for Sugano to improve on these numbers, though keeping the ball in the park will be tricky since his last two starts are scheduled to come against the powerful Yankees.