Yu Darvish is finally the pitcher the Cubs thought they signed

Yu Darvish had another good outing Tuesday night, showing he has become the pitcher the Cubs paid for.

The Chicago Cubs ponied up for Yu Darvish (six years, $126 million), then watched him deliver a 4.95 ERA over 40 injury-truncated innings in 2018. Things weren’t any better to start last season, with a 4.88 ERA and a 6.0 BB/9 over his first 13 starts.

But them Darvish seemed to find something. Over his next 12 starts, from June 10-August 15, he had 3.59 ERA with a 11.2 K/9 and a 0.9 BB/9. Over his last 18 starts of 2019, he posted a 3.45 ERA with a 12.1 K/9 and a 0.96 BB/9. A change in his pitch usage, specifically throwing more splitters, and simply throwing more pitches in the vicinity of the strike zone, drove the resurgence.

Things are finally clicking on the mound for Yu Darvish and the Cubs

Darvish allowed eight hits and walked one Tuesday night against the Cardinals, but he went six innings and allowed just one run. He is now 4-1 this season, with a 1.80 ERA and a 34:5 K/BB ratio over 30 innings (five starts).

Over his last 18 starts, dating back to July 12 last year, Darvis has quite simply been an ace.

Those strikeout and walk numbers further translate to a 12.3 K/9 and a 0.97 BB/9 over that span.

A blemish on Darvish last year was the NL-high 33 home runs he allowed, even as he minimized the damage done by them by not issuing walks down the stretch. But he has allowed just one home run so far this year, spurred by the best (lowest) barrel and hard-hit rates of his career.

The Cubs (15-7) have a 4.5-game lead in the NL Central, at roughly the one-third point of this short season. The rotation, led by Darvish and Kyle Hendricks, has helped cover the struggles of the bullpen. But perhaps most importantly, Darvish is pitching like the Cubs thought he could when they signed him with no real sign of slowing down.