Justin Verlander

Justin Verlander is a right-handed pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. Following a three year collegiate career at Old Dominion University, the Tigers selected Verlander in the 1st round of the 2004 amateur draft. The following season, Verlander debuted for the Tigers on July 4, 2005, in a loss to the Cleveland Indians.

Verlander's first full season in the majors came in 2006, when he won 17 games and finished 1st in Rookie of the Year voting. In 2007, Verlander won 18 games for the Tigers, and was selected to his first All-Star team. Named to his second All Star game in 2009, Justin posted a 19 win season and led the American League in striking out opposing hitters.

During the off-season, Justin makes his home in Lakeland, Florida. He participates in the Tigers Dream Come True and Autographed Memorabilia Programs. He has served as a spokesman for the "Be A Tiger for Kids" ticket fundraising program in partnership with the Cornerstone Schools Association. Along with aforementioned programs, Justin has also sponsored families from area Pediatric Hospitals and was part of the Tigers Winter Caravan.

The following is a quote from the Detroit Tigers MLB site.

"The Major League Baseball Players Trust contributed $10,000 to the Michigan Humane Society and $10,000 to Bon Secours Richmond Healthcare Foundation in recognition of Justin being named the 2006 American League Outstanding Rookie in the Players Choice Award balloting."

He was recommended/signed by Bill Buck of the Tigers management/scouting teamhttp://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/components/team/player/bio_iframe.html?is_mug_shot=true&roster_cid=det&cid=det&player_id=434378.

Justin broke Spring Training camp with the Detroit Tigers and headed north as Opening Day pitcher. After signing a huge contract, the team is expecting great things from their top right-hander.

Early in the season he has failed to live up to expectations, yet seems to be improving after every start. He is averaging a strikeout per inning after 3 starts and is still looking for his first win of the year. With an ERA nearing 7, Justin must find a way to stop giving up key hits to opposing hitters.

Manager Jim Leyland expects much from his star pitcher and has indicated he is not in the least bit worried about Verlander regaining his pitching dominance.

June 07, 2010 - Justin has had an up and down season, but as of late has righted his game. He has won 6 games against 4 losses with a 3.65 ERA. He has one complete game and is holding opponents to a .212 batting average, whild striking out 71 batters.

What a tremendous season for Justin. He won 19 games to lead the league, also led the league in strikeouts, innings pitched and starts, had the lowest ERA of his career and held opposing hitters to a .243 batting average.

He was selected to the American League All Star team, and was named Pitcher of the Week, May 2nd.

Justin had 8 games with 10 or more strikeouts and against Texas on July 29th, struck out 13 without issuing a base on ballshttp://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/components/team/player/bio_iframe.html?is_mug_shot=true&roster_cid=det&cid=det&player_id=434378. Verlander established a 2.81 ERA at home while winning 10 games at Comerica Park.

2008 Season

During the 2008 season, Justin struggled with gaining command of his pitches. His ERA, 4.84 was his highest since hurling only 11 innings during a couple call-ups during his first professional season. He also posted a losing record for the first time since becoming a full-time starter, 11 wins against 17 losses. Justin did manage to strikeout 163 batters in 201 innings, while keeping his hits-to-innings-pitched ratio below 1.

2007 Season

Justin was named to the American League All Star team and pitched one inning, giving up 2 hits and an earned runhttp://mlb.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2007_07_10_aasmlb_nasmlb_1. H also received "Player of the Week" honors on June 06, 2007. For the year, he posted a 3.66 ERA and 18 victories against only 6 losses. He struck out 183 hitters in 201 innings, while allowing opposing hitters to bat just .233 against him. On June 12 he tossed his first no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewershttp://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/news/verlander_nohitter/index.jsp.

2006 Season

Verlander earned "Player of the Week" honors on 5/28/2006, and was also named Tigers and American League "Rookie of the Year". His stats for the season included 17 wins against 9 losses, with an ERA of 3.63 and 124 strikeouts.

2005 Season

During the season, Justin pitched for the Tigers single A affiliate Lakeland Tigers in the "Florida State League", posting a 9 wins against 2 losses record, with an ERA of 1.29. After a promotion to Double A Erie, he won 2 games against 0 losses and posted a sparkling 0.28 ERA in 32 inningshttp://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=verlan001jus. He was named MLB.com's Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. Justin was called up to the parent team and made two starts for them, going 0 and 2 with a 7.15 ERA.

2004 Season

Justin was drafted in the first round, and signed by the Detroit Tigers to a professional contract.