Yu Darvish Relying on Slider as Fastball Command Falters

Yu Darvish exited his last start with a Tyler Chatwood-esque 7.15 BB/9 on the young 2019 season. The flamethrower just can’t find his fastball command right now. And because he can’t get a feel for that heater, Darvish has gotten away from the pitch in favor of cutters and sliders.

We can actually see Darvish’s time-to-stop-throwing-the-fastball moment during his last start against the Diamondbacks. Through the first two innings, the righty showcased a flurry of four-seamers (teal color) and two-seamers (blue color), but he couldn’t find the zone and dug an early 0-3 deficit. So what did Darvish do? You guessed it, he went the slider and cutter almost every time just up until Joe Maddon…