Yu Darvish: 6 Reasons Why He Would Be a Great Fit for the New York Yankees

Yu Darvish has announced that he will be posted today.

The star Japanese right-hander will be expensive for the team with the highest bid. If the New York Yankees were that team, they would have to pay his posting fee and his contract. The good news is his posting fee will not count toward a team's payroll or luxury tax.

Darvish will probably cost north of $100 million total but he has incredible upside that could make him worth even more. Many people are wary giving Japanese pitchers millions of dollars but I think Darvish is different. Let's see why.

Need

Do you trust A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes in the rotation? I certainly do not.

Burnett is currently being shopped by the New York Yankees so if he leaves a spot will open up in the Yankees' rotation.

C.J. Wilson has joined the Los Angeles Angels and Mark Buehrle has joined the Miami Marlins, so those pitchers are no longer options.

Edwin Jackson and Roy Oswalt are the best free-agent pitchers, but neither of them really fit in New York. On the trade market, there are a few names out there like Gio Gonzalez, Matt Garza and John Danks, but they are in high demand and therefore very expensive.

Brian Cashman will not give up his top prospects, so Darvish is a very good Plan B.

Age

Yu Darvish is only 25 years old. That is younger than any pitcher on the market, such as Gio Gonzalez, John Danks, Matt Garza and Edwin Jackson.

Darvish will be able to develop as a pitcher in the major leagues under the guidance of pitchers like Mariano Rivera and C.C. Sabathia.

Perhaps the best thing about his age has to do with his contract. Darvish will most likely get a five- or six-year deal so when it ends he will be at most 31 years old, so the Yankees would not be paying for him when he eventually declines like they are for Alex Rodriguez.

Velocity

Yu Darvish's fastball normally sits around 93-95 mph but frequently hits 97 and even hit 100 at the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

The reason his velocity is so high is because of his high three-quarter arm slot and 6'5", 185-pound frame.

Darvish has long arms that help him keep a downward angle on the ball. You may think that because the ball in the majors is larger that his velocity will drop, but the higher mound should be able to counteract that and keep his velocity constant.

Pitches

If you haven't seen Yu Darvish pitch, watch this video; it is unbelievable.

Darvish owns an incredible seven-pitch arsenal that includes a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, slurve, changeup, curveball and cutter.

His best pitches are his four-seam fastball and slurve, which are true ace-caliber pitches, while his cutter and changeup will be plus pitches in the major leagues.

Darvish already has incredible movement on his pitches, but the major league baseball has more prominent seams that will allow for even more movement on his off-speed pitches, namely his slurve.

Yankee Stadium

Yankee Stadium is well known for being a hitter's heaven but Darvish, at least in Japan, has been very good at keeping home runs to a minimum.

In order to succeed in Yankee Stadium you must have a low HR rate and a high strikeout rate. Darvish had a 0.2 HR/9 and a 10.7 K/9 in 2011. Yes, those are Japanese numbers, but that is still incredible for a starting pitcher.

Darvish also keeps runners off base by having a 2.1 BB/9 rate and a 0.84 WHIP in 2011. Darvish's great control and low fly-ball rate would keep the Yankee Stadium factor to the minimum.

Other Japanese Pitchers

First I would like to say that I know Yu Darvish is half-Iranian but he pitches in the Japanese Nippon League, so I will compare him to other Japanese pitchers.

Most people try to compare Yu Darvish to other Japanese pitchers, such as Daisuke Matsuzaka and Kei Igawa, but these comparisons are just not fair because he is a better and more complete pitcher than both of them.

Average of their last five seasons in Japan:

Darvish: 205 IP, 17-5, 1.71 ERA, 219 Ks

Matsuzaka: 163 IP, 13-7, 2.62 ERA, 169 Ks

Igawa: 200 IP, 15-9, 3.13 ERA, 190 Ks

Besides pitching the most innings, Darvish had the best record, by far the best ERA and the most strikeouts, even though he was the youngest of the three.

This comparison is just not fair because he is a better pitcher and does not have the work ethic issues of Matsuzaka.