Yu Darvish Reactions

I was in Korea last week and watched him play for Japan against Korea at the WBC. I commented he has major league pitching and attitude. This is a guy to definitely keep an eye on...

I'd think it's fair to assume Darvish would go within the first few picks of the draft if he were eligible, if not first overall.

You should check out Keith Law's video of him pitching... you can't really see his stuff, but you get a look at his delivery, which is a little odd.

If he were posted now, I bet you're right. I can see teams bidding over $50MM for him.

"Uh, DK, you do realize that the Asian pool for WBC was held in Japan, not in Korea?

Posted by: Jaybird | March 14, 2009 at 01:10 PM"

Owned.

Does anyone know where he would go if he were in the amateur draft this year? This guy is just one of many reasons why mlb needs a better international signing process. Is his stuff comparable to Strasburg?

The posting fee alone on this guy will probably fall in the $55-100mm. Crazy.

why would you compare darvish to strasberg?

strasberg can crack it up to 102 and has a nasty slider/curve.

i dont see why everyone is acting like darvish is the next big thing, i saw his stuff and its really good, but don't compare him to strasberg.

sidney ponson looked like an ace in the wbc, so does victor zambrano.

Jaybird is right. Nice try DK. I live in Sapporo, where Darvish plays, and have watched him pitch since he was 18. He could have been a 1st rounder then, now he's 1st overall, no doubt. He throws 7 pitches, all with control (he's only using 4 at the WBC) and had the mindset of a vet at 19. Reminds me very much of Roy Halliday, but better at 22 than Roy was. He throws complete games, great K-BB ratio, and plays hard every game. The problem is, he doesn't want to leave Japan. He thinks the Japanese kids need a star that they can go see play in real life, as opposed to watching on T.V.

"It makes you wonder... if he hill drop 1-2 of his pitches..."
Speculation, but I think Trey Hillman (now Royals manager, managed Darvish his 1st 3 years here) was frustrated by Darvish in that respect. Darvish doesn't need all his pitches, and could use a better change-up.

As far as Tazawa- nobody drafted him! The teams may be upset, but Japan is pretty damn proud to have one of their younger, unestablished players go to the majors. Let's face it, IF he can make the Sox in the next couple of years, it will raise the goals of the following generation of baseball players in Japan. A few of the best players may leave earlier in their careers, but that will also create more job openings, more competition, and more financial flexability for the pro teams in Japan. That can't hurt the game.