Well, it was everything that was expected. Maybe more.

Yu Darvish made his debut as a member of the Texas Ranger pitching staff this afternoon in a Cactus League game in Peoria against the home team San Diego Padres. Darvish pitched two very solid innings, facing 8 hitters. He threw 36 pitches, 26 for strikes.

Let me set the scene. The press box in Peoria has a row of dedicated seats with a ledge in front and electrical outlets for computers. Behind that row are tables that are set on an elevated riser with chairs and no electrical outlets. In years past I have seen many writers and scouts fall backwards off the ledge. It isn't the safest place in the world, but it is what it is. For today's game, every single seat was taken. In fact, the press box was about 100 seats short in accommodating the media. By far it was the largest gathering of press I have ever seen at an event in Phoenix. At least 2/3 of the media were Japanese print, television and radio folks. It was a madhouse.

Usually the home team serves lunch on a patio outside the press box for a fee that varies-usually about 7 or 8 dollars on the west side of the Valley (many venues on the east side are free, but that's another story.) Today the chef expected a huge, huge gathering. The only option was an open faced turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes. Not much to choose from. The result? The place was almost empty. But I ate there with some friends. Believe me. Lynn Pleskoff's cooking is far superior.

Since there weren't seats available in the press box, San Diego provided an entire section of the park as media seats. I sat in the scout section with a couple of my friends. It was a good thing because they had their radar guns and I knew exactly what Darvish was throwing. We also could talk about what we saw. Very quietly of course. In general, scouts do not share much information or opinions with each other. But they do share what pitches they saw.

So here is my take on Darvish-The First Look. Actually, it's my second. My first was in the World Baseball Classic some 3 or 4 years ago. But this isn't the same pitcher.

Darvish is unlike any other Japanese pitcher I have seen. He pitches in much more an American style, throwing downhill, finishing his pitches and not falling off to either side after the release. He has large hands and he doesn't show much of the ball as it leaves his hand. He has a very fluid motion without a delay or hesitation that we have seen from some Japanese pitchers. His stuff is really electric. He threw 6 different types of pitches by our count; a two-seam fastball, a four-seam fastball, a slider, 2 different curve balls, and a change-up. His 7th was a split finger but that's really the two-seamer.

The four-seamer has some natural rise and he can bring it to 95 with little to no effort. There is no strain on his arm. He does not lean back and let it go. It just comes out of his hand nice and easy and then...wham. There it is. He gets it up in the zone a bit too much with the higher velocity pitches. But hitters chase it and they can't catch up. The two-seamer is generally at about 92 MPH and it just flat out sinks. Its a swing and miss pitch with hitters swinging over the top at nothing but air. He used both his fastballs with precision.

The curve balls are sharp and crisp and slow and tantalizing. Imagine seeing heat at 95 and then a curve in the lower 80's. They are both solid pitches. The change-up drops as well and it can be used as an out pitch. I thought the slider broke too much out of the zone and hitters did back off a bit. But his pitch sequencing, his use of the entire plate, his moving the ball from the hitter's eyes then into the dirt was a sophisticated clinic for pitching.

His command on every pitch with the exception of a couple wayward sliders was top drawer. He induced swings and misses, but a couple fat pitches got whacked. Orlando Hudson knocked a double off him and Will Venable almost went yard. He ended up with a double. So 8 total batters faced, a couple punch outs and two doubles.

He met the press after his outing and I was On The Scene. Again, a madhouse. Here are some of the more cogent points of his time with the media:

-He works out of the stretch most of the time because he is comfortable there. There are times, random as they are, that he will work out of a regular windup. (Today we saw him out of the stretch.)

-He was not nervous. Players asked him if he was nervous and told him he should be. He said he wasn't nervous at all. (He sure didn't look it.)

-Because its early in spring he held back a bit. He indicated the "intensity" isn't there yet. (what will he be like when he doesn't hold back?)

-I asked him if he was looking forward to facing any particular Major League hitter? He said he was just excited and happy to be here and he wanted to face all the good hitters.

-When asked the difference between Major League and Japanese hitters, he said Major League hitters have more power. Japanese hitters make more contact.

-He said the dry air and wind blowing in to his face made his secondary pitches better today (They were awesome today.)

-He said he felt no difference today between the size of the American ball vs. the smaller Japanese ball.

My bottom line:

Darvish is an extremely good athlete. That's first and foremost. I don't think he'll wilt in the Texas heat although that is one of my only concerns. He fields his position very well, as he did today, grabbing a shot to the mound and knowing exactly what to do with the ball. The Texas heat can be brutal. It has hurt pitchers in the past. Its my Darvish yellow caution light.

Darvish will have plenty of run support from the Rangers hitters, making wins probable.

Darvish may give up some long home runs if gets that fastball up too high on the wrong guy. There are quick bats that can take that pitch to the next county. He has to be careful about that location. I have a slight concern about long fly balls or shots to the gaps. We saw two today. And that's my second Darvish yellow caution light.

Darvish will be the beneficiary of stellar defense by Beltre and Andrus on the left side. That will pay dividends when he throws his two-seamer. But, as I said above, he could give up lots of fly balls.

Darvish will have the benefit of Nolan Ryan, Greg Maddux and Mike Maddux to shepherd him through and coach him along. I can't think of 3 better pitching gurus. That's huge, huge, huge for me. Its one of the reasons I have some faith in Alexi Ogando and Neftali Feliz getting better.

Bottom Line:
He may begin as a #2 or #3 starter, but from what he flashed today, Yu Darvish will be an ace if he stays healthy. Ah, there are those four little words. The mechanics are smooth and sound. There is no undo stress on the arm. He should stay healthy. If he gets rocked early, don't panic. He will need time to adjust. But I will take him any chance I get in auction or in a draft. I think he'll give you wins, Ks, ERA and WHIP. But he won't wash your car or chew your food. You'll have to do that for yourself.
Darvish is a 70 at the very least on a 40-80 scouting scale. Once he acclimates, he may be an 75. I can't remember giving an 80 in the most recent years. I've only seen a few. For me, Kershaw, Halladay and Verlander are now at 75. In a couple seasons, Darvish may be there in my grading system. I'm very tough on pitching grades. Some day I'll explain if you ask me.

Buy with confidence. Don't panic if he walks a few too many people as he tinkers with his vast repertoire of pitches and finds his way in any given game. He'll adjust inning by inning. He's smart. Ahead of the curve. But he's also adjusting to America.

Follow me on Twitter @BerniePleskoff and on MLB.com in Voices. As always, your questions and comments are welcome.