Tigers Veteran Star Finds Midseason Form in Impressive Spring Training Outing
In this story:
The Detroit Tigers are working their way through the final games of the spring training schedule with Opening Day coming up next week and what should be a very exciting season ahead.
With players making their final tune ups before the marathon that is a Major League Baseball season begins, fans have been paying close attention to who is performing well and who is not. Much of the headlines as of late surrounding Detroit's starting rotation have been negative, but Tuesday afternoon got some major positive news.
Veteran right-hander Justin Verlander -- who returns to the Motor City on a one-year deal for potentially the final season of his Hall of Fame career -- has been just pedestrian so far this spring, but he just had an absolutely dominant performance against the Baltimore Orioles.
Verlander Looked Excellent for Tigers On Tuesday
Verlander tossed 4.2 innings and allowed just three hits and one run with six strikeouts and no walks, touching 96 mph with his fastball and generating 12 whiffs on the afternoon. He wound up allowing a home run to the last batter he faced which kept him from a perfect stat line over five scoreless innings, but this is still extremely encouraging.
At the age of 43, Verlander is not going to be the Cy Young ace he once was, however if he can give Detroit between 25 and 30 at least solid starts and eat some innings for this rotation, it is going to bring an absolutely massive boost.
The version Verlander showed on Tuesday certainly looks capable of being just that and potentially more as he gears up for what is going to be an emotional season in the place where it all started for him two decades ago.
With just over a week until Opening Day, it's an exciting prospect for the rotation.
Tigers Could Use Resurgent Season from Verlander
Amid some serious spring troubles for Casey Mize and Jack Flaherty, Verlander may be needed to step up and anchor the middle of the rotation as someone who brings a steady presence with at least a decent floor.
Behind Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez are a whole lot of questions who have shown brilliance but also inconsistency. Verlander being a bridge from the front to the back of the rotation and someone this team can rely on after he made 29 starts last year with a 3.85 ERA.
It's a lot to ask for him to have a great year at the age of 43, but Detroit wouldn't have brought him in and he wouldn't have signed the contract if he did not think he was capable. While fair questions have been asked amid struggles this spring, Tuesday confirmed that he is in fact still capable.
Should Verlander be able to carry this momentum into the regular season, it could be a huge development for a pitching staff which is going to need some more faces to step up this season.
Michael Brauner is a 2022 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Sports Media. He covers various MLB teams across the On SI network and you can also find his work on Yellowhammer News covering the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers as well as on the radio producing and co-hosting 'The Opening Kickoff' every weekday morning on 105.5 WNSP FM in Mobile, Alabama.