Justin Verlander
#35 SP · Tigers
MVP '11Cy Young '22Rookie of the Year '06All-MLB 1st Team '22All-MLB First Team '22ALCS MVP '17
Height
6'5"
Weight
240 lbs
Age
43
College
Old Dominion
Draft
2004, Rd 1, #2
Experience
20 yrs
Bats/Throws
R/R
B+
A-
A
—
Fan Verdict
Grade this player:
Career StatsA-
| Year | Team | GP | ERA | W-L | K | WHIP | IP | SV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career |  | 556 | 3.331529 | 266-159 | 3554 | 1.1362703 | 0.0 | 0 |
Current Contract
Length
1 year
Total Value
$13.0M
Guaranteed
$7.8M
AAV
$13.0M/yr
Guaranteed %60%
Performance Analysis
A-
FCA+
Justin Verlander grades as an elite performer among MLB starting pitchers, earning a A Performance grade. He carries a 3.32 ERA (below the league average of 4.20, a strong mark) and a 1.14 WHIP across 3567.2 innings pitched with a 9.0 K/9 rate. His 266-158 record provides context on team support and run prevention. A 9.0 K/9 rate indicates above-average swing-and-miss stuff. As a aging veteran at 43, Justin is a key contributor for the Tigers. A 555-game sample provides high confidence in this grade.
Fan & Media Sentiment
A
Very Positive
NegativeNeutralPositive
Justin Verlander's return to Detroit is generating the kind of warm public reception you'd expect for a three-time Cy Young winner and 2011 MVP coming home, and the sentiment around him holds at a steady A — but that goodwill is increasingly carrying more nostalgic weight than it is confidence in what he delivers on the mound. The dominant media thread isn't the homecoming celebration; it's a legitimate question about whether Verlander, now 43, still has the goods, with coverage pointing to missing velocity and effectiveness issues that frame him as a question mark rather than a stabilizing force at the top of the rotation. His performance grade has actually been trending upward and sits at an A-, which creates an interesting tension — the numbers say he's contributing at a near-elite level, yet the narrative hasn't fully caught up, still anchored in durability skepticism and the weight of a 20-year career that has forced everyone to confront the ceiling of what he can reasonably be asked to do. A recent bullpen session described as encouraging has given fans something to hold onto, but the fact that observers were scrutinizing it for reassurance in the first place tells you everything about where the baseline anxiety sits. The Tigers, sitting at 18-19 and holding the third seed in the AL Central with the kind of home-road split that suggests real vulnerability away from Comerica, need Verlander to be an answer, not a subplot. Recent roster activity — including moves at third base and in the bullpen — signals a front office actively trying to build around whatever window remains, which only amplifies the focus on whether Verlander can be a genuine contributor rather than a sentimental storyline. The honest bottom line: the public loves the story, the performance data offers real reason for optimism, but the narrative won't fully turn until Verlander silences the velocity questions with sustained dominance on the mound.
Transaction History
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About this player
Justin Verlander is a veteran in his 20th MLB season listed at SP for the Tigers. FanVerdicts maintains four independent grades for every MLB player on an active roster — Contract Value Index for the deal itself, Performance for on-field production, Sentiment for media and fan reaction, and Fan Verdict for community voting. Current grades for Justin Verlander: Contract Value Index B+, Performance A-, Sentiment A, Fan Verdict pending.
Every grade refreshes on its own cadence as new data lands. Performance recalculates when MLB game stats post; Sentiment updates with new media coverage and fan discussion; Contract Value Index recomputes when contract terms change; Fan Verdict reflects live community voting on this profile. Contract details below show the structure (years, total value, average annual value, guarantees) the Contract Value Index grade is computed against.
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