Luckily, I got a Yu Darvish autograph baseball card when I was traveling in Japan. Entering a card shop, there was an anniversary event and I saw lucky bags. I bought some and this card is totally beyond my expectation. The card truly looks beautiful and I really like it. With the joy of having this card, I’m wondering what Darvish’s performance in the coming season will be. So I looked at some numbers in 2019.
1. K/BB (Strikeout to walk ratio)
Post all-star, Darvish’s K/BB was sensational, 16.86. You might think this number is so unbelievable; in fact, he only gave up 7 walks in the second half of 2019. The second on the chart is Justin Verlander, 2019 AL Cy Young winner, whose K/BB was below 10.
Name
|
K/BB (Min IP: 80)
|
Yu Darvish
|
16.86
|
Justin Verlander
|
9.80
|
Gerrit Cole
|
8.67
|
2. xwOBA (Expected Weighted On-base Average)Gerrit Cole, the new Ace of New York Yankees, had a tremendous season in 2019. Post all-star, his xwOBA was only 0.214, the lowest in the league. Cy Young winners Verlander and deGrom were slightly behind Cole. Darvish is the fifth. Comparing other pitchers in the Cubs rotation, Darvish’s xwOBA was the lowest among them in 2019.
Name
|
xwOBA (Min PA: 200)
|
Gerrit Cole
|
0.214
|
Justin Verlander
|
0.222
|
Jacob deGrom
|
0.228
|
Jack Flaherty
|
0.229
|
Yu Darvish
|
0.245
|
Mike Clevinger
|
0.265
|
Name
|
xwOBA (2019)
|
Yu Darvish
|
0.295
|
Kyle Hendricks
|
0.297
|
Tyler Chatwood
|
0.321
|
Jose Quintana
|
0.324
|
Cole Hamels
|
0.326
|
Jon Lester
|
0.340
|
3. P/IP (Pitches Per Inning)
Braves’ Ace Mike Soroka had a breakout 2019. In the second half of the season, he pitched effectively, only 14.6 pitches per inning. Darvish, who struggled in the beginning of the last year, fought back and pitched more effectively in the second half, pitches per inning from 17(Pre all-star) to 14.7
Name
|
P/IP (Min IP: 80)
|
Mike Soroka
|
14.6
|
Yu Darvish
|
14.7
|
Gerrit Cole
|
14.8
|
Thus, Darvish has shown us how good he is in the second half of 2019 season. His command was sharp and did not give up many free passes. Meanwhile, hitters hardly make many hard hits against him. And he knows how to pitch effectively. These numbers show that he is the Ace of the Cubs now and for the opening day, he should be the opening day starter, if healthy.
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