Texas Rangers: Yu Darvish close to returning

The Texas Rangers have been competitive in the American League this season, and will soon be inserting a three time all star back into their starting rotation.

The 2015 AL West champion, Texas Rangers, have rode their dangerous lineup and a dominant Cole Hamels to a 22-19 start. Currently, the club sitting just one game back of the first place Seattle Mariners in the AL West. Texas has had a number of hitters perform very well to start 2016. Veterans like Adrian Beltre, Ian Desmond and Elvis Andrus have performed admirably at the plate, and younger players like Nomar Mazara and Rougned Odor have arguably been the Rangers’ best hitters so far this season. However, outside of Cole Hamels, the Rangers starting rotation is not filled with the type of names that will get fans excited about their prospects for the rest of this season.

Hamels has certainly been everything that the team wanted when they traded for the longtime Philadelphia Phillies ace last July. In his first full season in a Rangers uniform, Hamels has  collected a team-high four wins and currently sits with an earned run average just above 3.00. The 32 year-old starter has not only been winning for Texas, but has been overwhelming hitters as you can see by his 9.3 strikeout rate per nine innings, which ranks 9th in the AL. But there is a lot of uncertainty when looking at Texas’ rotation past Hamels.

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Starters A.J. Griffin, Colby Lewis and Martin Perez have been producing well for the club, but none of these starters has had sustained success in the league. All have been simply just average starting pitchers during their time in the league. So while there success has been a pleasant surprise for the club, it can be expected that at some point they are most likely going to fall back to their career averages. The most disappointing starter for the Rangers thus far has been left-hander Derek Holland, who has been knocked around in the early goings and just has not looked like a pitcher that will be able to rebound anytime soon.

But not to fear Rangers fans, with just one remaining rehab start scheduled for former all-star Yu Darvish, the team is expecting him back fairly soon. According to CBS baseball writer Matt Snyder, the team is expecting Darvish to start his first game since the 2014 on Friday, May 27 versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. This would be dependent on if he can get through his final rehab start this Sunday without any setbacks.

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Darvish returning to the rotation would be a major boost to a Rangers club that is trying to keep up with the likes of the Mariners’ Felix Hernandez and Taijuan Walker; two pitchers that should be in strong consideration for an all-star nod this June. However, with Darvish coming back, Texas would have a dominant 1-2 combination of their own, and would be a serious threat to improve on their 2015 record, if Darvish performs like has during his time with the Rangers.

While Cole Hamels may be seen as the team’s ace, Darvish has been just as dominant during his three years in major league baseball. The 29 year-old Japanese pitcher has a career ERA of a 3.27 and is averaging an outstanding 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings. These type of dominant numbers can mostly be contributed to his nasty pitching arsenal. In addition to his mid 90’s fastball that he can bump up into the high 90’s, he possesses a sweeping slider that he can use to keep hitters off balance. If Darvish can keep this type of form when he returns to the team, the Rangers would have two pitchers that many teams would have a tough time matching up with in a playoff series.

Texas’ starting rotation has been solid thus far, but adding a pitcher with the capabilities of Darvish would truly bring the club to another level in the American League, and if he can return with similar production that he’s had in the past, the Rangers should probably be considered the team to beat in the AL West with the type of explosive offense numbers they can produce on any single day.

Next: Prospects on the Major League doorstep

Does the addition of Darvish make the Rangers the favorites to win the AL West? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.