Yu Darvish Signs with Texas Rangers: MLB Pitchers His Career Could Resemble

Just before the 30-day deadline, the Rangers came to terms with Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish on a six-year, $60 million that is accompanied by a $51.7 million posting fee that will be paid to the Nippon Ham Fighters for the right to negotiate with Darvish.

The 25-year-old right-hander has already enjoyed a tremendous amount of success in five professional seasons in Japan, going 76-28, 1.72 ERA, 1,083 Ks, 1,024.1 IP and posting his best season to date last year with a 18-6, 1.44 ERA, 276 Ks line.

It remains to be seen how Darvish will adapt to the MLB game and if he will be worth the money that the Rangers spent, and there are number of different paths his career could take.

Here is a look at 10 MLB pitchers past and present that Darvish could have a big league career similar to, depending on how quickly he adjusts to the game, how much success he has and whether he is able to avoid the injury bug.

Daisuke Matsuzaka

Let's get the easy and perhaps most obvious one out of the way first, as it will be hard not to compare what Darvish does to what Dice-K did over what is a very similar contract in Boston.

The hype that preceded Matsuzaka was more than he could ever live up to, yet he was still very good in his first two seasons, going 15-12 with a 4.40 ERA in his rookie season before improving significantly to an 18-3, 2.90 clip in his second season.

Injuries struck after that, and he has gone a disappointing 16-15, 5.03 ERA in the three seasons since his impressive sophomore campaign. If Darvish can adapt to the league like Matsuzaka and avoid the injuries that sidetracked him, he should be more than worth his contract.

Mark Prior

While there is tremendous optimism surrounding Darvish's transition to the big leagues, and most people expect him to not only adjust to the game, but to be dominant, there are still concerns.

The much-hyped Mark Prior transitioned from the college game to the big leagues with little trouble and enjoyed a ton of success early in his career, going 18-6, 2.43 ERA, 245 Ks at the age of 22.

However, injuries struck again and again and derailed his promising career, and while Darvish has been healthy to this point in his career, the grind of an MLB season could change that and cut his career short.

Justin Verlander

Very few pitchers have pitched the number of professional innings at the age of 25 that Darvish has, and the fact the he has avoided injury to this point is reason for optimism.

Current Tigers ace Justin Verlander is perhaps the top pitcher in the game right now, and the right-hander is a workhorse type who has thrown at least 200 innings each of the past five seasons, leading the league in that category twice.

This is certainly a best-case scenario, but the similarities are there. Both have top-notch fastballs—although Verlander throws harder—and a good assortment of breaking stuff, and both post high strikeout numbers but don't necessarily rely on the strikeout.

In has 25-year-old season, Verlander went 11-17, 4.84 ERA, 163 Ks, 201 IP before breaking out in a big way the next season and emerging as one of the game's top arms. Perhaps Darvish will go through similar struggles in his first season before taking his game to another level in the second year of his contract.

Kerry Wood

Wood took the league by storm as a 21-year-old rookie in 1998, as he had a phenomenal 20-strikeout game and went 13-6, 3.40 ERA, 233 Ks over 26 starts.

He also found himself under the knife the following season, as he underwent Tommy John surgery following his impressive rookie year.

He came back to pitch five more solid seasons as a starter before more injuries forced him to the bullpen, where he went on to be an All-Star closer.

Darvish could be just as dominant as Wood in his rookie year, but should the unfortunate elbow injury surface, he could one day find himself in the bullpen as well with a high-90s fastball and devastating breaking stuff. 

That is certainly a bad scenario for Darvish, but if elbow problems become an issue, he would be a good candidate for success in the bullpen as well.

Curt Schilling

Schilling played four big-league seasons before joining the starting rotation at the age of 25, and his career had flashes of brilliance early on before things seemed to click at the age of 30.

He went on to a 164-94 record after he turned 30, and he pitched some of his best baseball in his late 30s for the Diamondbacks and Red Sox.

Perhaps the adjustment period for Darvish to transition to the big leagues will be a tough one and he will not truly figure things out until the final years of his six-year deal with the Rangers, setting him self up for a second big contract when he hits the free agent market.

Hideo Nomo

Nomo was a year older than Darvish when he took the baseball world by storm in 1994, going 13-6, 2.54 ERA, 236 Ks to win NL Rookie of the Year.

He was solid again the next season although his ERA climbed over half a point, but by his third season, he was little more than a third starter.

He managed to hang around in the league for 12 seasons, but ended his career with a less than impressive line of 123-109, 4.24 ERA, 1,918 Ks, 1,976.1 IP.

Darvish could very well dominate the league early on, but as hitters adjust to him, he will need to take the steps in adjusting to them, or the league will catch up with him like it did Nomo.

Josh Beckett

Since being taken second overall in the 1999 MLB Draft, Beckett has had an up-and-down career, as he has never quite emerged as the dominant ace many believed he would be. But he has still enjoyed a very successful career.

His ERA has been as low as 2.89 in 2011, as high as 5.78 in 2010 and everywhere in between. In the end, he has posted a 125-81, 3.84 ERA, 1,621 Ks, 1721.2 IP line.

However, he has made his mark in the postseason like few others, going 7-3 with a 3.07 ERA in 14 postseason games, including 2-1 with a 1.16 ERA in three World Series games.

Perhaps that will be where Darvish earns his millions, as the Rangers expect to be in contention for a World Series title for the next several years. C.J. Wilson flopped in the playoffs after impressive regular season performances, and perhaps Darvish will give the team the postseason ace it lacked last year without Cliff Lee.

Fernando Valenzuela

While Darvish is by no means as young as Valenzuela was when he entered the league at 19 and helped lead his team to the World Series at 20, he could be a similar sensation if he enjoys immediate success.

Valenzuela had a fantastic first six years in the league before settling in as a solid middle-of-the-rotation starter and enjoying a lengthy 17-year career. 

Still just 25, Darvish is entering his prime years and could very well be at his best over the next six seasons. When his contract is up, he will still be just 31, and at that time, he could settle into a middle-of-the-rotation spot in his next contract much like Valenzuela and enjoy a lengthy big-league career.