Strong-armed Armando

Tigers second-year pitcher Armando Galarraga continues his progression as a major leaguer. Galarraga's fine 2008, in which he recorded 13 wins and a 3.73 ERA, looks to be eclipsed if you believe in his hot start is for real.

Galarraga has allowed just one run in two starts and has struck out 12 batters in 13 1/3 innings. Today he worked 6 1/3 shutout innings to beat the White Sox, 9-0.

Fantasy Impact: Don't confuse Galarraga with a fantasy ace just yet. He walks three batters per nine innings, which is pretty good but not ideal, and he served up 28 home runs in less than 180 innings in 2008. He does limit hits, and if those strikeout numbers stay up he's a possible number two or three in your rotation for the year. Not too shabby, considering you probably drafted him as your number four.

The whirling Darvish

I'd been waiting for somebody to provide some info on Japanese ace Yu Darvish. ESPN's Keith Law finally did, and it all sounds good.

Darvish is the top pitcher in the Japanese major leagues right now. He earned the 2007 Sawamura Award (the Nippon Professional Baseball equivalent to the Cy Young Award) and the 2007 Pacific League MVP Award. He has posted ERAs less than 2.00 in each of the past two years, and struck out 418 batters in 408.1 innings over the past two years. Darvish is unusually tall for a Japanese pitcher; he's listed at 6-foot-5, and only one other pitcher on Team Japan is listed at taller than 6-1, the 6-3 Hisashi Iwakuma.

When you're just 21 years old and can command a fastball that touches the mid-nineties plus a good breaking pitch, you've got a shot to be great. I like his strange delivery, as well, as kinks in the windup can make it that much tougher for hitters to get their timing down.