Texas Rangers: 10 Reasons That Yu Darvish Is a Perfect Fit in the Rotation

The guessing game is over.

Late Monday night, Yahoo's Jeff Passan reported that the Texas Rangers had submitted the highest bid to the Nippon Ham Fighters to obtain the negotiating rights to Yu Darvish. The bid is a reported $51.7 million dollars.  

Though Yu isn't a Ranger yet, they have 30 days to negotiate a deal.  The deal will all together (including the bid) cost about $100 million. If he pitches in the majors next year it'll say "Texas" across his jersey.

The ace should fit in perfectly with this rotation.

A New Star

In 2010, the Rangers landed Cy Young winner Cliff Lee from the Seattle Mariners.  They hadn't clinched the West yet and every time that Lee took the mound the ballpark was packed.  

Most of the country paid attention as the Ham Fighters announced the winning bid—in between that and the lights going out in Candlestick.  

His coming to the Rangers will be an event.  The Rangers are already setting attendance records and should see an even bigger increase next year.  

Whether he's the Opening Day starter or further down in the rotation, fans will flock to the ballpark to see him.  Fans will be even more fired up after a big move in the offseason following back-to-back World Series appearances.  

Familiarity

The Rangers already have some members in the clubhouse that are Japanese (relief pitchers Koji Uehara and Yoshinori Tateyama).  Colby Lewis pitched in Japan for two seasons before he signed with Texas. They will make the transition from Japan to the States easier for Yu.  

Yu won't be alone in a clubhouse with nothing to discuss with his teammates.  The Rangers are known for having a team that enjoys having fun—a loose clubhouse.

Any growing pains or homesickness Yu may have will be buffered by the clubhouse he's surrounded with. 

Lack of Familiarity

Batters haven't seen Darvish.  They don't have history with him.  Darvish, by most accounts, has filthy stuff.  He can control it.  Batters won't be able to go off of first-hand scouting reports. 

Some say that Darvish has two primary pitches: his fastball that tops out around 97 mph and his slurve that slows to about 80 mph.  He also has up to five secondary pitches that he mixes in.  That's more than most pitchers feature.  

Darvish doesn't have a pitch that is dominating, but all of his pitches are above average.  It'll be tough to get a handle on the young Japanese starter.

Age

If the Rangers sign Yu to a contract, they'll be signing a pitching coming into what is arguably his prime. Yu is 25.  He joins Jeremy Hellickson, Clayton Kershaw and Michael Pineda as some of the best talent 25 and under.

He joins a staff with Derek Holland (25), Neftali Feliz (23), Matt Harrison (26) and the veteran Colby Lewis (32).  The rotation is young and talented.  Holland, Harrison and Lewis are proven starters and Neftali Feliz was the Rookie of the Year in 2010.

Darvish is not unlike the rest of this rotation in that he'll go through his learning curves.  It's right to be skeptical of him.  Adjustments in baseball are enormous, but there hasn't been a pitcher with Darvish's physical skills to come to America.

Durability

Durability is a must on this staff.  When Nolan and Mike Maddux came on the scene in 2010, they preached that all the pitchers had to start eating innings.  No regular starter pitched under 160 innings in 2011.  

For four seasons in the Japanese league, Darvish has 40 complete games.  Last year he pitched a career high 232 innings.  He's steadily increased his workload throughout his career and is poised to make the transfer from a six-man rotation to a five-man rotation.  

Darvish is going to be out of his element pitching in 110 degree heat, but the young pitcher has steadily raised his workload to make the transfer as easy as possible.  

Physical Attributes

Yu Darvish is an impressive 6'5" man with a 220-pound frame.  He'll be the tallest in the rotation by about an inch over Colby Lewis.  

Darvish is a couple inches taller than Clayton Kershaw and as tall as Justin Verlander is listed. His size, athleticism and records are better than his predecessors.  He's in much better shape than Matsuzaka and much more imposing.

Fielding

The Rangers have the top defensive infield in the league.  Beltre is a Gold Glove third baseman and Kinsler has improved his defense and turns one of the quickest double plays in baseball.  Is there anything that Elvis Andrus can't get to?  The range around the diamond is unlimited.  

The Mitsui Gold Glove is Japan's equivalent to the MLB's Gold Glove.

Yu Darvish has won the award twice.  

He was errorless in 2011.  Darvish should fit in well with an infield that rarely lets anything by.

Pitching Style

Darvish is full of energy.  He bounces off the mound after almost every strikeout.  He pitches with passion and intensity.  

Darvish will no doubt bring some spark to a team that already has high hopes for 2012.  

Darvish also posted a 10.7/9IP strikeout rate last year.  His groundball percentage was 57.  At the Ballpark in Arlington, a noted hitter's park, it's essential to keep the ball on the ground.

He can also keep men off the basepaths as Darvish walked less than 1.5 batters per nine innings in 2011. His stingy walk per nine innings rate coupled with his strikeouts and groundball percentage will theoretically lead to big league success. 

Competitive Confidence

It was Derek Holland's job to make the decision on the final starting rotation hard on the management. The Rangers' young pitchers are all in competition with each other.

The staff doesn't have a clear-cut ace.  Colby Lewis, Derek Holland or Yu Darvish could toe the rubber on opening day.  They all want to be that guy.

Colby Lewis has amazed in the last two postseasons.  Derek Holland had four complete game shutouts last year and went 16-5.  Matt Harrison voiced his displeasure about not being in the 2010 postseason rotation and made his impression this year.  He was also an integral part of the Mark Teixeira trade.

Yu has been far and away the best pitcher in the Japanese League.  He knows he'll have to perform to be a top-tier member of this rotation.

Expectations

If you haven't heard, the Rangers have gone to back-to-back Fall Classics.  The social media sites in Texas were filled with "the Rangers better win the World Series this year" sentiment.  In two years fans have transformed from being happy to sniff the postseason to world championship expectations.  

Maybe they're warranted, either way the Rangers have to perform.  Yu Darvish has had the spotlight on him in Japan since he was a teenager and he's lived up to his reputation over there. The Rangers expect that same personality—a refusal to disappoint.  

The risk with Darvish is high with an investment that will total around $100 million.  Recent players from Japan have failed to reach expectations (most notably Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Boston Red Sox). Darvish is better than all those players; his career ERA is below 2.00, better  than Matsuzaka's in any single season.

Darvish is also in better shape than those before him and has shown that he can shoulder the load.  

It'll be tough to replace C.J. Wilson and while I doubt Darvish steps in as the No. 1 starter, this staff will be good enough to make fans forget about C.J..

The Rangers scouted every one of Darvish's starts in Japan.  They know what they're getting into.  The front office, at this point, is above reproach.  Trust in J.D.