Yu The Man vs. Yankees

Yu Darvish enjoyed his best stateside start last night, shutting out the New York Yankees while recording bunches of strikeouts (10) and ground balls (12) in 8.1 innings pitched. Per usual, Darvish had his expansive repertoire on display, throwing fewer than 50 percent fastballs while also mixing in cutters, sliders, curves and splitters. But what made his Tuesday night start so successful is that he got typically patient Bombers batters to go fishing.

Yankees hitters chased 25 of Darvish's 64 pitches thrown out of the strike zone (39 percent), compared to 22 percent during his first three major league starts. The Yankees had shown pretty good plate discipline prior to Tuesday's hacking, entering the day with a 26 percent chase rate (28 percent MLB average).

Darvish was particularly adept at getting New York's lefty-swinging batters -- switch-hitters Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira as well as Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano, Raul Ibanez and Eric Chavez -- to try to poke at pitches off the outside corner. Here's the location of the Yankees' out-of-zone swings against Darvish:

Location of Yankees' swings on out-of-zone pitches vs. Darvish, 4/24/12

Darvish took advantage of New York's free-swinging ways by racking up seven of his strikeouts on pitches swung at outside of the strike zone. He got Swisher and Ibanez twice, plus Granderson, Teixeira and righty Derek Jeter once.

Is Yu Getting Squeezed?

While Yu Darvish sports a 2-0 record and a 3.57 ERA in his first three MLB starts, his control has left something to be desired. The 25-year-old righty, formerly of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, has walked nearly as many batters (13) as he has whiffed (14) in 17.2 innings pitched. Your first inclination might be to think that Darvish has been a Dice-K-like nibbler, preferring to throw pitches out of the strike zone and relying upon hitters to chase. That hasn't really been the case, though. Rather, Darvish appears to have gotten some tough calls from ups so far.

Despite his high walk total, Darvish's percentage of pitches thrown in the strike zone (52) is actually well above the 48 percent average for AL starting pitchers in 2012. But when it comes to getting called strikes on pitches taken in the strike zone, Darvish lags behind. Take a look at his called strike rate on in-zone pitches taken, and then the AL average for starters:

Darvish's called strike rate on pitches taken in the strike zone, 2012Average called strike rate on in-zone pitches taken for AL SP, 2012

Overall, AL starters have a called strike rate of 78% on pitches taken in the strike zone. Darvish, however, has a called strike rate of just under 67% in such situations. That's dead last among AL starters who have faced at least 40 batters:

Called strike rate on in-zone pitches taken by batters, 2012

Pitcher	PA	ClStk%
Dan Haren	68	90.2%
James Shields	74	89.5%
Jeremy Hellickson	52	86.7%
Brandon McCarthy	80	84.2%
Matt Moore	56	82.2%
Jason Vargas	48	81.8%
Ivan Nova	56	81.4%
Hiroki Kuroda	56	80.4%
Brandon Morrow	51	80.4%
C. J. Wilson	52	79.4%
CC Sabathia	61	79.3%
Tommy Hunter	52	79.2%
Matt Harrison	52	79.1%
Francisco Liriano	48	78.9%
Felix Hernandez	48	78.8%
Bartolo Colon	52	78.6%
Jered Weaver	58	78.3%
Ricky Romero	67	77.6%
John Danks	77	77.0%
Colby Lewis	66	76.7%
Derek Holland	57	76.4%
Justin Verlander	71	76.1%
Carl Pavano	66	75.8%
Blake Beavan	52	75.5%
Jake Arrieta	68	71.9%
Neftali Feliz	56	71.7%
Henderson Alvarez	55	68.8%
Justin Masterson	62	67.9%
Ervin Santana	63	67.9%
Yu Darvish	58	66.7%

The umps' skinny strike zone and a low chase rate by batters when Darvish has thrown a pitch out of the zone (22 percent, compared to the 28% average) have led to Yu's control woes. Yu has to hope he stops getting squeezed so much starting on Tuesday against the Yankees.

Hamilton Comes Out Swinging in Walk Year

The Texas Rangers boast the best record (13-3) and run differential (+52) in the majors, and there's no bigger reason than Josh Hamilton. The 31-year-old outfielder, eligible for free agency next winter, has started his walk year by swinging at -- and crushing -- everything in sight. Hamilton has a .418/.438/.776 line and an American League-best 213 OPS+ in 73 plate appearances.

Hamilton has long been a free swinger, but he has taken his hacking to another level so far in 2012. Check out his swing rate on pitches in the strike zone, his chase rate on pitches off the plate, and his overall swing percentage over the past two years:

Year	In-Zone Swing Pct.	Chase Pct.	Overall Swing Rate
2011	80.7	37.7	54.8
2012	86.7	45.3	60.2
MLB Avg, 2011-12	63.6	28.2	45.1

 

No batter in the game this year has swung at a higher percentage of pitches than Hamilton. His extra cuts are coming on low-and-away stuff. Hamilton has swung at 56% of low-and-away pitches so far this season, compared to 44% last year:

Hamilton's swing rate by pitch location, 2011

Hamilton's swing rate by pitch location, 2012

Hamilton hit .179 on out-of-zone pitches in 2011. This season, he's 8-for-24 (.333). He's certainly putting a charge into the ball, as evidenced by his AL-best seven home runs, but he won't keep getting hits on balls put in play at a .420 clip. It remains to be seen whether Hamilton can keep on raking with such a wide strike zone. One thing's clear, though: Hamilton isn't waiting for walks during his walk year.