Houston Astros Season in Review: Justin Verlander

Justin Verlander had a season for the books in 2022. Now the free agent is looking for a new home, but just how good was his year for the Houston Astros?

The Houston Astros had an extraordinary season, they won the World Series after all. 

Pretty simple stuff. 

Starter Justin Verlander also had a phenomenal season. Not only did he help the Astros win a world championship, but he also unanimously won the American League Cy Young award. 

Pretty simple stuff.

Pitching in his first full season from coming off of Tommy John surgery, Verlander put together the best season anyone coming off the surgery has had. I haven't actually checked that, but I can't recall a single player recording a 1.75 ERA with a minuscule 0.829 WHIP over 175.0 innings pitched while winning a World Series and Cy Young.

If you can find a better performance from a player coming off of Tommy John I'll stand ready to be corrected. But, I am very certain I will be standing for quite a while. 

What else can you say about the 39-year-old ace? He won the AL Comeback Player of the Year Award. That was a forgone conclusion. 

He led baseball in nearly every meaningful pitching stat from ERA, to ERA+, to WHIP, and recorded 18 wins. 

Players are just not supposed to be that dominant. Not at Verlander's age. Not after coming off of a significant surgery. And here we are, we got to witness it.

Now, Verlander is a free agent and is due for a significant payday. Three years at $130 million might get it done. He deserves every penny of what he is about to make. Whether or not the Astros meet those demands remains to be seen. 

All we know is that Verlander deserved every bit of the grade we are about to give him.

Overall Grade: A+

More From SI's Inside The Astros:

1. Could Mike Trout Request a Trade to the Houston Astros?
2. Mariners Fans Inexplicably Outraged Following Houston Astros' Social Media Post About Sweep
3. Report: Former Astros Pitcher Fiers' Contract Terminated By CPBL Club
4. Six Houston Astros Declared Free Agents
5. Watch: Yordan Álvarez's Home Run Wins Astros World Series
6. Lucas Giolito Claims All Teams Were Cheating in 2017
7. Dusty Baker Makes His Thoughts Known on Bonds and Judge Records
8. Is it Time to Move on From the Houston Astros Cheating Scandal?
9. Is There Any Hope for an Aging Yuli Gurriel?
10. Astros' Álvarez Stopped Striking Out and Became the Best Hitter in

---

Make sure to follow Inside the Astros on Twitter @InsideAstrosSI!