Cubs Quick Hits: Yu Darvish’s Last Four Outings Inspire Optimism

Over his last four starts, Yu Darvish has looked like the ace the Cubs imagined he’d be when they signed him. Opposing batters have struggled to make contact against Darvish’s deep basket of pitches and the big righty has showcased sharp command.

Darvish’s BB/9 was 6.22 prior to his May 31 outing against the Reds, but has dropped to 2.59 along with an 8.88 K/9 over his four most recent four start.

One reason for Darvish’s excellent four-game stretch is that he’s throwing more fastballs in the strike zone. Only 40% of Darvish’s four-seam fastballs were thrown in the zone through May 25. Since then, that number has incraesed to 50% in the zone.

You have to be encouraged by Darvish’s month-long stretch of strong starts, especially since he’s displaying much better command of the fastball.