Former All Star Gives Insight on San Francisco Giants Pitcher Spring Training Debut

A three-time All-Star about the debut of the San Francisco Giants newest star.

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Justin Verlander recently made his spring training debut with the team.

He faced the Colorado Rockies, getting a fly ball out on his first pitch as Giant.

The future Hall of Famer pitched two innings, giving up a walk and a solo homer while striking out one batter.

On his "The Mayor's Office" podcast, former All-Star first baseman Sean Casey gave some thoughts on Verlander's first appearance for San Francisco.

"I guess Verlander gave up a bomb yesterday, but he had a good conversation with Logan Webb saying, don't let your numbers dictate what's going on," he said.

Webb struggled in spring training himself last season.

Casey had some insights on pitching in Arizona, where the Giants play in spring training, that only a former player could have, saying, "Just keep a good process, work on your pitches, all that stuff, balls are going to fly out in Arizona."

The former multi-time All-Star seemed encouraged by Verlander's velocity, which topped out just short of 96 mph on his four-seamer. His average velocity on that pitch has sat in the low-to-mid-90s for most of his career, which is great news for the 42-year-old pitcher.

Verlander himself was quoted after his start saying that he's been told "don't overconcern yourself with pitch shapes here" since the air in Arizona impacts movement on pitches.

Casey added some insight to that, sharing the impact the Arizona air has on pitch movement is similar to what happens in Colorado.

He used former starting pitcher Darryl Kile's struggles with the Rockies as an example.

Kile had a nasty curveball that had notably less bite in the Colorado air than it did elsewhere, resulting in him having the two highest ERA's of his career during the two years he pitched for the Rockies.

It's common knowledge that Colorado isn't a pitcher friendly environment, but Arizona flies more under the radar in this area.

This is Verlander's 20th season, but his first spring training in Arizona.

He's pitched in Colorado and Arizona as an opponent at times throughout his career, but never for a long stretch like he will this spring.

That element will give some context to Verlander's production this spring, good or bad.

His velocity and control will be more important indicators of how he'll produce in the regular season than his spring statistics.