The last part of that title isn’t just my prompting. It’s the fact that we’re almost halfway through starting pitchers’ likely starts for the year, and that’s about when you WOULD start thinking about possible Cy Young candidates.
Clearly, Darvish is among them, even if he understandably ain’t going there:
Here was Yu Darvish's answer when asked what it would mean to be in the NL Cy Young discussion:
"I don't want to think about that. I don't care. Just focusing — next pitch."
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) August 23, 2020
After owning the hottest offense in baseball yesterday to the tune of 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, and 10 K, Darvish’s season numbers are incredible: 1.70 ERA, 2.11 FIP, 1.5 WAR, 31.0% K rate, 4.2% BB rate. That WAR leads the NL, the ERA is third, the FIP is fourth, and the K-BB is 5th. Yes, Darvish is on that early Cy Young short list.
He absolutely has continued to be the guy he was in the second half last year, which helps yield this fun stat:
Since last season's All-Star Break, Yu Darvish has 162 K and only 13 BB in 118 2/3 IP. pic.twitter.com/hPjAb827kC
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) August 23, 2020
As for yesterday’s game, Darvish was out there throwing a dang frisbee for a slider, and wound up getting 26(!!!) whiffs on the day. Nearly half the time the White Sox swung, they missed the ball. And when it was a slider? Their swings turned into a whiff 74% of the time. Heck, 60% of the time they swung at his four-seamer they whiffed! My God.
Enjoy some bits:
What did Darvish do today to counter power in White Sox order?
"Slider, knuckle-curveball at the right time, especially for righty. Throw a chase slider, cutter."
He had a season-high 26 whiffs, including 13 on slider (most with that pitch since also having 13 on 4/24/13)
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) August 23, 2020
https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/1297636278712836096
カッター、ナックルカーブ、4シームです。 https://t.co/Pt3hmy1Pbw
— ダルビッシュ有(Yu Darvish) (@faridyu) August 24, 2020
See, it's not that easy.
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 23, 2020
Caratini (thru translator) on Darvish's slider: "The slider, the way he was throwing it today, he was throwing it like never before." Can't always trust data for Darvish because he's a freak with his pitches, but according to Statcast, he threw 25 sliders & got 13 whiffs on it.
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) August 23, 2020
https://twitter.com/faridyu/status/1297661634547195908
Darvish on how brilliant he's been since last July: "I have a confidence right now. I feel really good, especially today, I have a little power in my body." He likely means he just felt strong and fresh, but I like to think he accidentally just admitted he has super powers.
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) August 23, 2020