A Young Arm to Watch

Toyotomi Nagano

He's from Wakayama, Japan and is just 19 years old but already he is leading the Single-A League in wins with 16 (tied) against 9 losses. Toyotomi has logged 185 innings and checks in with a 1.33 WHIP. The second-round pick of the Ann Arbor Barn Owls, he's pitched for the Dearborn Pioneers all season. He checks in with a fastball and a deadly screwball that has allowed him to fan 159 while walking just 81.

A round 2 pick and 38th overall, he's been a steady influence on the other pitchers on the Dearborn staff even though he speaks very little English. Some of his favorite stops in the Dearborn area (a large suburb outside of the Motor City) are the Greenfield Village, Levagood Park for recreational baseball (he says it relaxes him to see the kids play), and he often dines at his favorite deli in Ann Arbor, Zingerman's. Through an interpreter he expressed his delight with the world class New York Deli style sandwiches, "They are huge! And, the ingredients are the best."

In June Toyotomi won the AHL Pitcher of the Month Award. "I was very proud to be selected this year and will do my best to keep pitching winning baseball for Dearborn.  But, someday my dream is to play for Ann Arbor and eat sandwiches at Zingerman's whenever we are not on the road."