2022 Padres Player Review: Yu Darvish

Yu Darvish was acquired before the 2021 season to be an ace for the San Diego Padres. He had a great first half of the season last year but dealt with a back injury that prevented him from finishing strong. This year though, it was different. Darvish wasn’t an All-Star but he was as consistent as can be.

2022 Statistics

4.5 WAR, 30 G, 194.2 IP, 3.10 ERA, 0.950 WHIP, 197 K, 37 BB, 22 HR, 12 HBP

Positives From This Season

Darvish had 25 quality starts this regular season so he was keeping the Padres in games all year long. Then when the postseason came, he stepped up as an ace. The 36-year-old dominated the Mets in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, allowing just one run over seven innings of work. Then after keeping the Padres in Game 2 of the NLDS vs. the Dodgers, he delivered two 2 ER performances against a hot Phillies lineup in the NLCS.

The Padres might look to work on an extension for Darvish and they know he’ll be at the top of the rotation for at least 2023.

Negatives From This Season

There weren’t many negatives for Darvish in 2022. If you want to be picky, he had one terrible start, which was April 12 against the Giants where he allowed nine runs in 1.2 innings. There were a couple five earned run starts as well but I’m not going to criticize one of the most consistent starters in baseball this season. He was great and kept the Padres in a win-or-go-home Game 5 of the NLCS.

If you want to listen or watch me talk more about Darvish’s season on the Talking Friars Podcast/YouTube show, click here!