No. 9 Yu Darvish
The ace of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, the 22-year-old right-hander also anchored Japan's national team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, winning the championship game in extra innings against South Korea. Born to an Iranian father and a Japanese mother who met while both attending college in St. Petersburg, Florida, Darvish won both the Pacific League Most Valuable Player and Eiji Sawamura (the equivalent of Cy Young, as given to the top pitcher) awards in 2007 as he led the Fighters to the league championship.
