The xEye Test : Darren Yapi

For much of last season, the calls for Colorado Rapids striker Darren Yapi to be sent on an NJPW like excursion1 to a team where he could amass more minutes were loud. Despite the Rapids depth at the position, many had felt that the young rotational striker was not producing enough. I know I had found myself in this boat a few times and it’s really hard not to when you’ve been hoping a kid comes good for so many years.

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Last year, Oliver Larraz’ break out season where he justifiably commanded a starting position and forced Lamine Diack out of a place on the team went exactly according to plan2. Larraz’ path to first team starter is the stuff of dreams for General Managers and Youth Directors. The 23 year old midfielder first went on loan to USL side San Diego Loyal as a rotational/reserve player, came back and was “the guy” at Rapids 2 and is now enjoying starter minutes in his second year with the Rapids despite early skepticism. A similar pathway was the one of Sam Vines’ who found immediate starter minutes with Charlotte Independence in USL and was the Rapids starting left back the following year and blossomed in the position despite early skepticism.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have Darren Yapi who has been with the first team now for five years and before then was quietly being promoted as one of “the” players to look out for. A tall and agile forward with a nose for goal is a profile that you can build around for years to come. Combined with some savviness on the ball you wouldn’t expect from a player his size and you’ve got the makings of a swiss army attacker.

Despite his initial sell and projected ceiling, Yapi did not have as much of an immediate impact as his fellow homegrown squad mates at his loan spells. In 2021, he was not a regular starter on a fun and attacking 2021 Colorado Springs Switchbacks side led primarily by Hadji Barry.3 In MLS Next Pro’s debut season the following year, he had a decent spell with Rapids 2 as one of their early starters who was on the outside of MLS looking in. In 2023 he made the jump to the regular first team before splitting games between the first and second team in the disastrous 2023 season. That year, too much of him was being asked of him on the first team and on the second team he was largely a sidekick to Remi Cabral for Rapids 2 who had an electric attacking season in MLS Next Pro4.

Suffice to say, Yapi has not had a career trajectory as impressive as Sam Vines or Oliver Larraz. A very very very big HOWEVER: he’s still young having started this trajectory at the age of 165. Last season, Yapi didn’t necessarily “struggle” but he wasn’t a reliable enough replacement for striker Rafael Navarro and played more as a rotational winger receiving the ball as a wide target and held the ball up well and when trailing, he’ll be positioned alongside Navarro in chaotic end game sequences. In short, Yapi had the kind of season you’d expect out of a then 19-year-old striker to be the immediate threat off the bench. In 2023, too much of him was being asked as the starter and in 2024 he didn’t have a meaningful enough rotational role to play as a true nine. The calls to send him on loan were rightfully loud. And yet, Yapi stayed with the team through the 2024 Offseason and is now finding himself in a similar rotational role, however there’s something eye catching about his advanced metrics.

The Numbers Have Always Favored Yapi

Stats are a tool and not a crutch: I remind myself. If you’re not caught up to speed on Goals Added, in short it’s a rating system that assesses individual player performance across a variety of subcategories. It gathers all the players and puts them on a scale. The higher or lower your number is away from the median the better or worse you are in that category.

As you’ll see below in last season’s total G+, the Rapids best “Dribbling” rated player was Rafael Navarro but he also had the team’s worst rated “Receiving” stat. If you were watching the games, you’d know that Navarro would drop to gather the ball after pressing (represented in his Fouling metric) and despite receiving the ball in deeper areas (the negative receiving G+) he made up for it by dribbling the ball into advantageous areas.

Highlighted above, we see that Yapi ranked as the 4th best player on the Rapids for G+ but a closer look at his minutes reveals a player who collectively had about ten 90 minute matches. According to Goals Added, Yapi was the Rapids best bench option. Sure, Jonathan Lewis was the one bagging goals and getting some productive minutes but Yapi is the future and the Rapids benefit from him getting minutes at the MLS level. Would he have benefitted from a regular starting role in USL elsewhere? He probably would have, but I feel it’s only fair to make up for the 2023 circumstance by keeping him around for a rotational spell. It would have been extremely unfair for him to be sent off on loan after having to shovel a lot of the bad in 2023. It’s also no coincidence he really started to come into his own as a player with those rotational minutes. And now, there’s an interesting story emerging in regards to his stats.

The biggest detraction from Yapi’s game last season is without a doubt his Shooting at -0.26. Just in case you needed a refresher, I put together this reel of all his shots from last season.

What’s this, though? Yapi’s Shooting G+ this year, in a very small sample size, is 0.09. So what? Bassett leads the Rapids in Shooting G+ and he’s scored just one goal while Navarro and Mihailovic combine for -0.18 Shooting G+ and have seven goals between the two of them. For Djordje it’s simple: Goals Added doesn’t account for penalties; he has two of three goals from the spot. For Navarro, his shooting isn’t even that bad compared to his dribbling this year. That could be because Navarro is no longer being as much of a pressing forward and is playing more as a target. His receiving and dribbling have almost swapped. The fact they’re utilizing Navarro differently indicates how much less of the ball they want Bassett to have. And, for good reason. If you’re a team’s who’s best player is a holding midfielder and come playoffs, despite having all the pieces in your attack, you come out and have a poor showing that says more about the over reliance on the holding midfielder than the striker.

What was my point? Oh yeah, negative numbers can be a weird quirk of Goals Added and in Navarro’s case it may likely be deducting some points from his recent dry spell. He’s on the board again now having bagged a goal recently against San Diego but as I mentioned on Burgundy Banter this week, if he had went another match without a goal I was about to start worrying. Yapi’s strong shooting starts are highlighted in the shots he’s taking.

So far, he’s having to do less on the ball but the poacher’s instinct is starting to manifest itself. His press against San Diego accounted for 0.25 fouling G+. A little more than half of his total G+ this season has come from that one game. You take that game away and he falls from fifth to… *checks notes*

Oh would you look at that, he doesn’t drop.

As a starter, Yapi showed he could execute as a pressing forward exceptionally well. His hold up play on the Rapids third goal is exactly the kind of play that shows that ability.

From being a target in transition, chesting the ball to Navarro, keeping the play alive and then dropping it back to Mihailovic, this is a good sequence of play that he’s not pulling off in previous years.

I made a reel here of his shots just to ensure I’m not missing anything. I think his shooting has gotten better but it’s also because the game scheme and set up of the team requires more of him on the attacking end. And, ultimately, this is great for his development. As a young striker, being able to take shots and build confidence knowing you have a great support structure in midfield that’s going to not only win the ball back but put you in great spots means it’s all on Yapi now to keep pinpointing his moments, continue to be a target, and prove your case. Theodore Ku-DiPietro is just as hungry and if one of the two breaks into a prominent role the Rapids will have some very good attacking prospects. This sure does make for an interesting question mark once a big budget spot re-emerges for the team.

Below is Yapi’s 2025 reel so far. Just five shots so far this season. Hopefully, with more minutes, we’ll start to see more.

What say you Rapids fans. Are you seeing the improvement in Yapi’s shooting? Do you think he should be the starter? I know there’s still plenty of Teddy Ku-DiPietro minutes ahead for us to witness but can’t help but feel Yapi is tracking exceptionally well. Let me know what you think and any other notable Goals Added findings you’re seeing.

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