The Justin Verlander renaissance is upon us. And, appropriately enough, so is the Tigers'.
Verlander took a couple seasons to rework his stuff, despite not being the absolute best like he was for a few years back there. Last year he made some appearances halfway through the year, to aid his fifth-place team, depleted since the departure of Yoenis Cespedes, and the rise of the Royals.
According to his first start of the year, I think the Tigers are gonna be in pretty damn good hands this year. Justin Verlander was shutting down batters like it was 2011 all over again.
The guy's been around in the league for 10 years, and, with the exception of the few years after his Cy Young reign where he had some injuries, he's been one of the most consistently dominant pitchers in baseball. The guy throws fast, and he throws hard, and that combination's worked pretty well for him since 2006. He's been to the World Series twice, once in his rookie year, and again in 2012. Didn't go especially well for him, but he performed like a pro.
The Hall of Fame question is definitely swirling at this point, but in order to make it a definite, Verlander has to have some stellar seasons down the stretch, starting this year. He can't be the kind of pitcher who fades in his 30's- he has to be amazing all the way through. I'm not thinking that's going to be a problem here, but judging by the past few years, I do have reason to be concerned.
Tigers are probably going to do well this year, and Justin Verlander's gonna be a huge part of that.
Coming Tonight- The one reason Atlanta Braves have to be excited. Besides Freddie Freeman.
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