Texas Rangers 2017 preseason profile: Yu Darvish
Texas Rangers starter Yu Darvish bounced back from Tommy John surgery and looked pretty good in 2016, but pretty good won’t be enough this season.
Texas Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish showed us last season that he’s a lot stronger than ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, a.k.a. “Tommy John Surgery.” While he had a pretty decent season for someone in that position, 2017 will need to be a major step forward for him.
What 2016 taught us
While it used to be considered a death sentence, Tommy John surgery has become fairly routine now among MLB pitchers. In fact, a strong percentage of professional hurlers would not have a career without the procedure. Yet, it’s still something that requires roughly 12 months for a pitcher to overcome. And realistically, it’s at least another six months before the player regains his effectiveness.
Considering that, what Darvish has accomplished is amazing. It’s not that he was terrible in 2016, either. In what was roughly about a half season of pitching, he was actually quite effective.
More from Texas Rangers
- Texas Rangers hitting the reset button with Jonathan Hernandez
- Texas Rangers lose Jacob deGrom to Tommy John: Next steps
- Grant Anderson gives the Texas Rangers their missing ingredient
- Texas Rangers: How Adolis Garcia started putting up MVP numbers
- Why Kumar Rocker is still a successful pick for the Texas Rangers
The biggest difference in 2016 was in his strikeouts per walk, which jumped to 4.26, having previously averaged 3.12. That might have to do with the trade deadline acquisition of catcher Jonathan Lucroy. The two worked wonderfully together, leading to a three game winning streak for Darvish in August. Not to mention, Texas won five of his six starts in August.
He also became a more effective pitcher last season once Lucroy came aboard. He averaged 16.22 pitches per inning prior to August. That average dropped to 15.5 in August, September and October. While it may not seem like much, that could be the difference between six and seven innings in a start. That could make an even bigger difference in 2017.
What 2017 could hold for us
The biggest hope for Darvish and Texas Rangers fans, is that last season was an outlier. His surgery recovery could attribute to anything that happened last season. That’s why he’ll be watched closely this year.
He’ll also have a full year to work with Lucroy. He’ll also have a full year with manager Jeff Banister, which he’s not yet had in his career. That pair of great baseball minds could take a talent like his and re-elevate him to Cy Young contention.
As if those two factors weren’t big enough, it’s also a contract year for Yu. If he has any hopes of bringing in the big money he’s capable of next offseason, he’ll dominate. He can, but will he?
As we discussed with Cole Hamels, the presence of both is a huge luxury for the Rangers. If they could get 34 combined wins from the duo, they’ll be in the driver’s seat for the American League West title. That’s why anything short of 17-5 and a 3.30 earned run average will disappoint.
Hitters have historically batted just .216 against the 6´5˝ righty. He should hold closely to that this season, allowing just a .212 average. When all is said and done, he’ll go 17-5 with a 3.30 earned run average. He’ll strike out 260 hitters and he’ll have a WHIP around 1.13. If he exceeds those numbers, he’ll be a shoo-in for the Cy Young.
Next: Rangers one starter away
He’ll establish himself as the Texas Rangers ace once again and some tough discussions will take place in the offseason. But that’s a discussion for another day. Everything between now and then will be fun. So for now, let’s just enjoy the show.