The 2024 MLB season is set to kick off this month on March 20th and 21st at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea. The matches will feature the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Diego Padres, with each team hosting one game.

Earlier, the Dodgers and Padres announced their starting pitchers for these games:

(Game 1)
Dodgers: Tyler Glasnow
Padres: Yu Darvish

(Game 2)
Padres: Joe Musgrove
Dodgers: Yoshinobu Yamamoto

I will be writing an analysis for each of these four pitchers. This article will begin with the Padres’ starting pitcher for the first game, Yu Darvish.

The analysis will be divided into 5 segments:
(1) Yu Darvish Biography
(2) Analysis of Yu Darvish’s Pitching Style and Strengths
(3) Analysis of Yu Darvish’s Pitch Types and Performance
(4) Detailed Performance Analysis of Yu Darvish in Various Situations
(5) Predictions for the Dodgers’ Lineup Against Darvish

A conclusion will also be provided at the end.

Given the extensive content, this analysis is split into two parts. This article will cover (1) and (2), and the following one will address (3) to (5).

(1) Yu Darvish Biography

Yu Darvish was born in Habikino, Osaka, Japan. His father is Iranian and his mother is Japanese, hence his full name, Farid Yu Darvish Sefat, reflects both Japanese and Iranian influences.

His father was a soccer player, which introduced Darvish to both baseball and soccer at a young age. He formally began playing baseball in his second year of elementary school in 1994.

Darvish was already a standout baseball player in junior high and was vigorously recruited by high schools, eventually choosing Tohoku High School. His high school career was marked by excellent performances, including a no-hitter against Kumamoto Technical High School during his senior year’s spring Koshien tournament, earning him a reputation as Japan’s top high school pitcher.

On November 17, 2004, Darvish was the first draft pick by the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Over seven seasons (2005-2011) with the Fighters, Darvish was a dominant force, leading the league in wins three times (2007, 2008, 2010) and consistently showcasing top-notch performances, including the highest strikeout totals in 2010 and 2011.

In 2011, Darvish entered the MLB through the posting system and was acquired by the Texas Rangers for a posting fee of $51.7 million on December 19, 2011. His tenure with the Rangers (2012-2017), included four All-Star appearances and a league-leading 277 strikeouts in 2013. Darvish was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017, contributing significantly in the postseason before a disappointing performance in the World Series against the Houston Astros.

On February 13, 2018, Darvish signed a six-year, $126 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. Despite some injuries in his first season with the Cubs, he rebounded to lead the league in wins in 2020. Darvish was traded to the San Diego Padres in December 2020, where he continued to perform well, including reaching his 3,000th career strikeout in 2022.

In February 2023, Darvish extended his contract with the Padres for six more years at $180 million, underscoring his commitment to continue competing in MLB despite a challenging season marked by elbow issues.

(2) Analysis of Yu Darvish’s Pitching Style and Strengths

Scheduled to start against the Dodgers at the Gocheok Sky Dome on March 20-21, 2024, Yu Darvish’s veteran experience will be crucial for the Padres. This section analyzes his pitching style and the advantages it brings.

Yu Darvish pitches with a 3/4 arm slot, which is ergonomically one of the most effective styles. It falls between an overhand and a sidearm throw, providing a balance that complements biomechanics.

(Advantages of Yu Darvish’s Pitching)

(a) Durability: Darvish is known for his stamina on the mound, consistently pitching deep into games across multiple seasons.

(b) Strikeout Ability and Swing-and-Miss Skill: One of Darvish’s key strengths is his ability to strike out batters, supported by his high swing-and-miss rates. This skill is crucial for his success, helping him dominate hitters.

(c) Opponent Suppression: Darvish excels in limiting opposing hitters

, evidenced by his career OPS allowed being significantly below the league average.

(Challenges in Darvish’s Pitching)

(d) Susceptibility to Home Runs: While Darvish effectively suppresses hits, he has been prone to allowing home runs, a slight blemish on his otherwise impressive resume.

In his career spanning 1624 1/3 innings, Yu Darvish has allowed 205 home runs, resulting in a career home run rate (HR%) of 3.1%, which is slightly higher than the league average of 3.0%. Throughout his 11-year MLB career, Darvish has had four seasons where his HR% exceeded 3.5%, notably in 2019 when he allowed 33 home runs, the highest in the National League that season.

Although Darvish’s career home run rate is above the league average, he has had standout seasons such as 2014, 2020, and 2012, where his HR% was impressively below 2.0%. These figures suggest that when Darvish is in top form, he can significantly mitigate one of the weaker aspects of his pitching.

This article concludes the first part of the analysis on Yu Darvish, the starting pitcher for the San Diego Padres in Game 1 of the Korean Overseas Series. The next article will delve into the performance of Darvish’s pitch types, his statistics in various scenarios, and predictions on how the Dodgers might structure their batting lineup against him. A summary will also be included.

Sources:

Wikipedia
Central Bank (exchange rates for USD and TWD)
Baseball Reference
WBC Official Website
Fangraphs