Dan Szymborski’s ZiPS projections are a good measure of what to expect from players in the upcoming baseball season. We'll take a look at the Rangers' projections on a position-by-position basis. Szymborski can be found on Twitter at @DSzymborski.
Today we'll look at the projections for the Rangers in the No. 1 starting pitcher role, where it looks to be held down by Yu Darvish.
Darvish: 29 starts, 193 innings, 3.40 ERA, 10.54 K/9 IP, 226 strikeouts, 86 walks, 15 home runs allowed
These projections are all better than Darvish's 2012 numbers, which is a great sign for the Rangers. Remember, last season, he won 16 games, and this year he could set up to win 20 like Matt Harrison was set to do last season before ultimately coming up short.
Darvish will only continue to get better and if his second big-league season is better than his first, that's all the Rangers can ask for as they still have a young pitcher trying to acclimate himself to the American game. The Rangers look to have a bona fide ace on their hands, and Darvish's numbers are trending toward that status.
