Padres righty starter being coached by beloved pitcher to become 'Dominican Yu Darvish'

Padres righty starter being coached by beloved pitcher to become 'Dominican Yu Darvish' originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The San Diego Padres are going to need some quality production from more under-the-radar pitchers this upcoming season.

A. J. Preller has built a strong roster, but there are some big questions in the rotation outside of Michael King and Nick Pivetta.

There is one player, a 27-year-old right-hander who's had success in the Majors before, who could be in store for a big season in 2026. And it's not just due to the opportunity, but how he's being coached leading up to 2026. As Jim Bowden of The Athletic shared, Padres righty Randy Vasquez is being coached up by Yu Darvish to become the "Dominican Yu Darvish" this upcoming season.

Padres trying to create 'Dominican Yu Darvish' with Randy Vasquez "Yu Darvish is trying to teach Randy (Vasquez) how to be the Dominican Yu Darvish," Padres manager Craig Stammen said. Vasquez, the 27-year-old righty with a solid fastball that sits in the 96-98 mph range, has been using a lot of his pitching arsenal thanks to the coaching from Darvish this spring. While he's not been as impressive as other pitchers have been this spring, his 4.