It has been almost two years since he has pitched in a big league game, but Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish appears to be close to returning.
The Texas Rangers have been without their ace pitcher for a long time, but he finally seems to be returning soon. Yu Darvish was one of the single most dominant pitchers in baseball in 2014. He was the clear ace for the Rangers, and appeared to have an incredible career ahead of him.
However, everything was put on hold in 2015 with a torn UCL in his right elbow discovered in spring training. Darvish had to undergo Tommy John surgery, forcing him to miss the entire 2015 season. While he has not made a big-league start since August 9, 2014, Darvish appears to be close to returning to the Rangers’ rotation.
The right-hander from Japan made his third rehab start on Thursday, this time with Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate, the Round Rock Express. Darvish went four strong innings, allowing only one hit, albeit a solo home run. Darvish threw 54 pitches (31 of which were for strikes) while striking out four batters and walking two.
More importantly, Darvish was reaching as high as 95 MPH on his fastball, according to Paul Sporer of Fangraphs.
Darvish was solid. Settled in after some bumpiness early. Worked 92-94 with some 95. I didn't see 96, but some apparently did. Good stuff.
— Paul Sporer (@sporer) May 13, 2016
Darvish could make one more rehab start before returning to the Rangers’ rotation. If nothing else, they are going to want to see him get his stamina up. That being said, the star pitcher is expected to be back with the team by the end of the month. Plus, if he comes back as good as he was before, adding him at the top of the Rangers’ rotation is going to be a game-changer.
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