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A scout who saw Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish against the Twins on Saturday
was not especially impressed.
“He’s going to give up a ton of hits,” the scout said. “A lot of his
fastballs are very straight. The guy is supposed to throw hard. But he
basically pitched at 89 to 92, touching 93-94. That’s pretty good in Japan.
It’s not very good here.
“He has a good cutter, a good curveball. But when he gets in trouble, he
turns into a breaking-ball guy – nibble, nibble, he won’t let it go. He
reminded me of Dice-K.”
Darvish’s results in his first two starts – 17 hits allowed in 11 1/3
innings, nine strikeouts, eight walks – support the scout’s contentions.
Darvish, however, noted after Saturday’s game that he is still adjusting to
the majors, and the Rangers believe his stuff and performance will improve
once he settles into a routine and develops a better feel for what he wants
to achieve.
He certainly is capable of better – he struck out 11 in six innings March 30
in a Cactus League game against the Rockies.
“I think it’s safe to say that Mr. Darvish was as advertised,” Rockies
manager Jim Tracy said that day. “Tremendous arm speed, a great mix or
pitches, pitches to both side of the plate.”