As the title states, welcome back #35. It has been a long time coming for Justin Verlander, who at age 43 is set to return to Detroit on a one-year contract after spending the last 9 years away from the team that drafted him. 

It is a bittersweet moment and a complete turnaround cycle for the Hall of Fame pitcher who seemingly revitalized his career with the Houston Astros, winning two World Championships, two more Cy Youngs, and an ERA title to add to his already illustrious career. Now he is making his grand return since 2017 when he was traded to the Astros after posting a 5 WAR season in 28 games for the Tigers. That season was the year the Astros won it all, but most notably was the year of the cheating scandal that may have tarnished his reputation slightly. However, Tigers fans will always remember him for the skills he brought both on and off the field and one that brought to Detroit their first pitching Triple Crown since Hal Newhouser in 1945 and the first pitcher in their franchise to win MVP. That season in 2011 saw Verlander go 24-5 for an .828 winning percentage, while holding batters to a 2.40 earned run average in 34 games and 251 innings, striking out 250 batters and having an ERA+ of 172.

He will go into the hall of fame unquestionably as a Tiger, but it can’t be understated how brilliant Verlander’s career turnaround was with the Astros, winning two CY Youngs at age 36 and 39, becoming one of the oldest pitchers in baseball history to win a CY Young in his late 30s. After winning the CY Young in 2019 and having one of the best pitching tandems in baseball with Gerrit Cole and Verlander being a one-two punch, he accumulated a 7.4 season, 21-6 record, 2.58 ERA, 34 games, 223 innings, and 300 strikeouts for an ERA+ of 179.

Following that up, after only playing in one game in 2020 at age 37, he took the next season off to recover; many folks around the league believed Verlander played in his last game of professional baseball, all for Verlander to have arguably the best season of his career in terms of statistics. That season he had a 5.6 WAR season, an 18-4 record, a 1.75 ERA, by far the best of his career, and won his second ERA title, 28 games, 175 innings, and 185 strikeouts for an ERA+ of 218. In that season, it was impressive how at age 39, he beat all the other pitchers and won the best award for a pitcher.

Doing a little research, I found that Verlander lowered his pitch velocity and relied less on strikeouts and more on pitching command and the strike zone; he didn’t want to re-aggravate a nerve and potentially be out for the season again with another Tommy John surgery. In doing so, he cleaned up his mechanics, attacked hitters early, and had fewer walks. That season in 2022, he only had 29 walks given up, compared to his 37 given up in 2019. Mind you, he was still incredibly dominant at this point even without striking out that many batters, but he still carried the lowest WHIP of his career since the 2019 season at 0.829. WHIP stands for walks plus hits, and with only 116 hits given up, another career high, and 29 walks allowed, he had one of his best seasons. Not striking out a ton of guys and also not walking a bunch was something only seen in fairy tales.

after some shaky seasons with the Mets and back to the Astros and the Giants, he is expected to be fully healthy for the season that follows for the Tigers. Of course, he is 43 years old and won’t be able to be a workhorse as he had in his prime. But last year, at age 42 with the Giants, he had a 4-11 record, 3.85 ERA in 29 starts and 152 innings while striking out 137 and an ERA+ of 103. He is still electric as ever and can slot in behind Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez.

The good news for Detroit is it looks like Justin has slowly returned back to career norms for him regardless of his age. After the All-Star break, Verlander held batters to a 2.99 earned run average and thus dropped his ERA from 4.70 all the way down to 3.85. He pitched in 75 innings and had a 4-4 record. From 0-7 and a terrible start to his 42-year-old season to 14 starts, 75 innings, 4-4, .99 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 70 strikeouts and 26 walks.

Although he may not be the guy he once was, he doesn’t have to be; he doesn’t need to be relied on as heavily as before. The Tigers aren’t asking that out of him. All they need is for him to be himself and things will work out. We have seen how he has done before under the Detroit spotlight; now it is time for his grand return. After 9 years, JV is back in Detroit and that is must-watch TV!