Well this is awkward. I've been an open Justin Verlander fan this year and his last four starts just have not bee what we've wanted, concluding with one of his worst outings of the year with a 5.2 IP, 6 ER, 9 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks line against the Astros. Now his BB/9 is up to a horrendous 4.28 BB?9, 4.57 FIP isn't much better than his 4.87 ERA, and hard contact is a poor 34.8%. Jeeeeeeez. If you're an owner, you want to hear that he's going to figure it out and to hold and all that jazz. I want to say that - I truly do believe that Verlander is a much better pitcher than this and he will take a step forward at some point. Problem is that we don't know when that will be. It could be next week, it could be June, it could be August. I really don't believe Verlander has just "lost it". Velocity is still up a ton since last year - 95.0mph! - but it's for some reason corresponding with a drop in whiff rate, down from 12.0% to 9.0%. He's going to take a major hit on Monday down to the 20s - I just don't see why you wouldn't take someone like Lance McCullers or Jon Lester at this point - but if you're looking for a pitcher in the second half that could make a big impact that doesn't cost a pretty penny, I'd be talking to the JV owner in your league. There's still plenty of time for him to recover.
Let’s see how every other SP did yesterday:
