KYODO NEWS - Nov 28, 2017 - 16:27 | Sports, All

Tomoyuki Sugano was rewarded for his superb season on Tuesday, when the Yomiuri Giants nearly doubled his salary to a reported 450 million yen ($4.05 million) for 2018.

The 28-year-old right-hander led the Central League this season with 17 wins, a 1.59 ERA and six complete games, including a league high four shutouts. He won the Sawamura Award as Japan's most impressive starting pitcher and was named the CL's top pitcher.

"I have received the ultimate evaluation," Sugano said. "Since people around me will now hold me to a higher standard, my desire is to toughen myself and be ready for what comes."

"I made it look like I put it all together, but even so, there are so many areas where improvement is possible."

Sugano began his fifth pro season in the World Baseball Classic, where he allowed an unearned run in Japan's 2-1 semifinal defeat to the eventual tournament champion, the United States. In May, he became the first CL pitcher to win three straight shutouts in 28 years.

A victim of poor run support in 2016, he led the league in ERA but managed a mediocre 9-6 and received an estimated 230 million yen in salary for this season.

Sugano was first taken in the 2011 draft, when the Nippon Ham Fighters won his rights in a draft day lottery with the Giants. But he said he would only play in the major leagues or for the Giants, then managed by his uncle, Tatsunori Hara. Sugano sat out the 2012 season and signed after Yomiuri made him its top pick for the second straight draft that autumn.