Don’t look now but the, second best rotation in the American League is about to get a lot better. Yu Darvish’s return is on the horizon. The Texas Rangers currently hold a half game lead over the rest of the American League West. Kudos have to be given to Cole Hamels who has anchored the rotation as the ace while Darvish has been out.
Yu Darvish’s Return Is On The Horizon
Yu Darvish was signed by the Rangers in 2012, and underwent Tommy John surgery in March of last year. His absence was more than evident as the Rangers rotation struggled through injuries, and limped into the All-Star break. If it hadn’t been for Jon Daniels making a move to acquire Cole Hamels in a trade to fill the gaping hole that was left by Darvish there is no telling how the Rangers season would have wound up.
In the previous three seasons leading up to the surgery it could be argued that Yu Darvish was one of the best, if not the best starting pitcher in baseball. His best season was the 2013 season when he had an earned run average of 2.83, and led the league in strike outs for the season as well as being second in league for hits per 9 innings pitched and lead the league in strikeouts per 9 innings. It was evident that something was starting to hinder him during the 2014 season as his numbers slowly creeped up from his previous lows, but his stats were still respectable compared to the rest of the league.
Darvish began his rehab assignment this weekend by pitching in Frisco, Texas for the team’s Double-A affiliate the RoughRiders. He proved that he was more than ready to accelerate his rehab, and get back to the majors. He only pitched two innings, but they were two solid innings. He didn’t allow a hit, had two strikeouts, and hit 97 m.p.h. on the radar gun. After the game Darvish admitted that there was some nervousness out on the bump. He was quoted by John Henry of the Fort Worth Star Telegram as saying “It’s been awhile since I pitched in a game situation. I felt like I was pitching with the bases loaded in the big-league games every pitch.” That is to be expected of course as it has been over year since he has taken that mound.. At the time it is unknown how long it will actually be until Darvish does make his return to the big leagues, but if he keeps pitching the way he did in his first rehab start one can only assume that the mid-May time frame that was originally projected is pretty accurate.
With Darvish’s return comes the difficult decision by Jeff Banister to pick a starter that will have to be moved to make room for Darvish in the rotation. The rotation has been solid for the Rangers, and have held most of the opponents bats in check. There have been a few bad starts here and there, but for the most part the rotation is probably the most consistent part of the Rangers roster. Banister could always go with at six man rotation when Darvish comes back, and wait to see which player weeds themselves out of the rotataion. Either way Bannister will be faced with a touch decision in a couple of weeks.
It will be fun for any baseball fan to see Yu Darvish and Cole Hamels head up the Rangers rotation. Both are considered ace’s in the league, and are very similar to the one-two punch that we saw in in the Clayton Kershaw and Zach Greinke combination with the Dodgers for the last few years. One thing is certain opposing teams will have their hands full with the Rangers when Darvish returns to the rotation, and they are at full strength.
Main Photo: SURPRISE, AZ – MARCH 05: Yu Darvish #11 of the Texas Rangers pitches in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Surprise Stadium on March 5, 2015 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)
