Koji Uehara
After putting up with significant rehab time, the lefty rounded back into winning form in 2002. The workload he was originally going to be pegged with was greatly alleviated thanks to a rejuvenated Masumi Kuwata and continued production of hotshot youngster Koji Uehara, as the trio formed the front end of the Giants rotation. Despite coming back from injury, he threw innings, his highest total since 1999. Also for the first time since the 1999 season, Kudoh posted an ERA under 3.00 at 2.91.