Iowa Cubs’ Tsuyoshi Wada named PCL pitcher of the week

Mar 25, 2014; Mesa, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher

(67) throws in the third inning against the Los Angeles Angels at HoHoKam Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

For the extended week of April 3-13, Chicago Cubs’ offseason acquisition Tsuyoshi Wada was named the Pacific Coast League pitcher of the week after going 2-0 in a pair of starts against Memphis and Nashville.

In his two starts, Wada allowed just one earned run in 13 innings (0.68 ERA), while issuing just one walk and notching 18 strikeouts, including 10 against Memphis, which tied a career-high.

According to a release from the organization, Wada threw 132 of his 187 pitches for strikes in the season’s first week-plus,  and ranks second in the PCL in earned run average, WHIP (0.60) and batting average against (.149), and third in strikeouts.

The southpaw signed a minor-league deal with the Cubs in late January after spending his first two seasons in Major League Baseball as a member of the Baltimore Orioles. However, he never appeared in a big league contest, splitting his time between Triple-A Norfolk and working back from Tommy John surgery.

The 33-year-old Wada went 107-61 in nine seasons in professional baseball in Japan, pitching to the tune of a 3.13 ERA over the course of 1,444 2/3 innings. According to the team release, the left-hander was “a four-time Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star and won the NPB Most Valuable Player in 2010 after leading the league with 17 wins.”