Rangers Yu Darvish: Is A Breakout Season in the Works?

Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish pitched well in his return from Tommy John surgery. With a, hopefully, full season, Darvish can pitch his best season to date.

The Texas Rangers invested a lot of money in Yu Darvish. In the five years of his contract, he missed one full season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and has a combined three full seasons of experience. In the last year of his contract, I think Darvish will have his best season.

Darvish missed part of 2014, all of 2015, and the first two months of last season. In his 17 starts last season, he did not hold back. He struck out 132 and walked 31 batters in 100.1 innings. His strikeout rate was in line and walk rate was actually lower to his pre-injury seasons.

Darvish posted a 3.41 ERA, 1.116 WHIP, and 7-5 record. He also had a 3.09 FIP, 0.32 points lower than his ERA, which means that most of his stats were because of him and not the defense behind him. His career 3.29 ERA and 3.15 FIP are results of his high strikeout and low home run totals.

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One thing to look forward to with Darvish this season is the return of his split-finger fastball. According to Dallas Daily News, he stopped using it last year because of the stress it caused on his elbow.

“I was kind of astonished when he threw it,” pitching coach Doug Brocail said. “He throws it correctly and uses a bit of his wrist so not all of the pressure is on his elbow in that pulling-down motion.”

Darvish will be making his Spring Training debut on Sunday. He was originally going to pitch Saturday, but his start got pushed up a day. Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweeted it is not injury related.

"“I was kind of astonished when he threw it,” pitching coach Doug Brocail said."

With the rise of the Houston Astros, the Rangers need Darvish to succeed. With Cole Hamels leading the way, the rest of the Rangers rotation is suspect. Andrew Cashner, A.J. Griffin, and Martin Perez are not going to fantasy-relevant seasons.

I wrote about Darvish being a bargain draft pick last season here. Based on his recovery, fantasy owners drafted him later than usual and were rewarded with a good season. This season, though, Darvish has moved up a lot in the rankings. I have him at No. 13 currently, but I’ve seen him as high as No. 7.

Next: Is Jose Reyes still fantasy relevant?

I have Darvish in my third tier of starters only because I’m a little nervous. If he pitches well this spring, then he will definitely move up a few spots. In a full season, I project a 2.85 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 265 strikeouts.

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