Fantasy Baseball: 7 Starting Pitchers Who Could Bounce Back in 2019

Yu Darvish, Chicago Cubs

ADP: 156
Steamer: 139 IP, 157 K, 10 W, 3.76 ERA, 1.21 WHIP
THE BAT: 139 IP, 161 K, 9 W, 3.90 ERA, 1.24 WHIP

Out of this list, you could argue Yu Darvish is the biggest wild card of them all.

Lasting only 40 innings in 2018 due to elbow and triceps issues that eventually led to a September surgery, Darvish is expected to be ready by Opening Day, but as with any pitcher coming off arm-related injuries, we have no idea if he'll see a full return to form this year.

However, with an ADP outside the top 150, the possibilities should no doubt pique our interest.

In 2017, Darvish produced a 3.86 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with 209 strikeouts over 186 2/3 innings, a stat line supported by a 3.71 SIERA, 27.3% strikeout rate, and 7.6% walk rate.

And the year before that -- even right after recovering from Tommy John surgery -- Darvish performed like a true ace, putting up a 3.08 SIERA, 31.7% strikeout rate, and 7.5% walk rate over 17 starts.

For the most part, even with last year's ugly 4.95 ERA and 1.43 WHIP, Darvish didn't stray far from his 2017 peripherals. He still managed a respectable 4.11 SIERA, and both his strikeout rate (27.2%) and velocity (94-plus MPH) remained virtually unchanged. Darvish did see an alarming jump in walk rate (11.7%), but considering he produced a walk rate under 8% in each of the previous two seasons, we should expect that number to come back down.

Of course, even if the skills remain intact, health concerns are nothing new with Darvish. Over the past four seasons, 2017 is the only one in which Darvish has exceeded 150 innings, explaining the pessimistic inning totals by projection systems.

At the end of the day, Darvish's range of outcomes are all over the place. Is he fully healthy? How many innings will we really get out of him? Can he still be an ace, or have those days passed?

Ultimately, projecting something around his 2017 per-inning numbers with under 180 innings is probably the way to go with the hopes of something better. Whether or not you want to take the plunge depends on your risk tolerance and how confident you are in your other arms. But when you enter his ADP territory, the reward could be great at this post-injury discount if you're willing to take a shot.