Yu Darvish Pitches His First Rehab Game, Expected Back Mid-May

ESPN - Texas Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish pitched two scoreless innings Sunday in his first rehab start since he underwent Tommy John surgery last year.

Darvish, pitching for Double-A Frisco against Corpus Christi, struck out two and allowed just one baserunner, via a walk, during his outing.

According to the Dallas Morning News, he threw 24 fastballs, averaged 94.3 mph and twice reached 97 mph on the radar gun.

It was his first time pitching in a game since Aug. 9, 2014 against the Astros in Houston.

The first place Texas Rangers have some help on the way now that Yu Darvish has had his first rehab outing following last season's Tommy John surgery. The 29-year-old right hander will make a few more starts in the minors before he is ready to rejoin the Texas rotation.

Once Darvish does return expectations should be tempered, at least in the immediate future. Many pitchers coming back from TJ surgery admit it is not until their second season back that they begin to feel like themselves again. Darvish will also certainly be on a pitch count and an innings limit upon return so it is unlikely he will be able to go seven innings most nights.

However, this is still great news for Rangers fans and baseball fans in general. When healthy Darvish is one of the most exciting pitchers in baseball. His best season came in 2013 when he finished second in the Cy Young voting with a 2.83 ERA and an unholy 277 strikeouts in just 209.2 innings pitched:

Darvish is attempting to break the mold for the success of Japanese pitchers in Major League Baseball. Japanese starters struggle in the States for a variety of reasons and their shelf life seems to be only a few years. Darvish had a more dominant start to his career than any fellow countryman though. His return to MLB is one that should excite all baseball fans.