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Justin Verlander Will Benefit From New Detroit Tigers’ Defense

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Matt Kryger-USA TODAY Sports

On Saturday afternoon, Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander will make his highly-anticipated 2015 debut against the Cleveland Indians. The question of what to expect from the now 32-year-old Verlander is still very fresh on the minds of Tigers fans.

During his final rehab assignment with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens, Verlander struck out nine Columbus Clippers and showed that he could still run the fastball up into the mid-90s range, but he still most likely won’t return as the same strikeout artist that he once was. Granted, most fans are not expecting to see the 2011 Cy Young/MVP-award winning Verlander again, but that hasn’t stopped some from hoping.

In 2014, Verlander had a 6.95 K/9, which was his lowest mark since his Rookie of the Year-award winning campaign back in 2006, and his swinging strike rate of 8.8 percent was a six-year low. According to Fangraphs, the average speed of his four-seam fastball checked in at 93.1 mph, which was a career low.

Of course, Verlander had core muscle repair surgery prior to the beginning of the 2014 campaign, which could be one of the reasons for his sub-par year, but the fact remains that he is getting older. While there may be a few exceptions to the rule (one of the most obvious being Nolan Ryan), it is hard to be a fireballer forever.

That being said, Verlander can still be a very effective big league pitcher, and relying on the strikeout may not even be necessary. In contract to recent years, he will be pitching in front of a very good defense in 2015. With Yoenis Cespedes and Anthony Gose now in the outfield and a healthy Jose Iglesias at shortstop, Detroit is flashing some serious leather these days. The Tigers currently rank third in the AL in Def (14.6), third in UZR/150 (9.1) and fourth in DRS (14).

While Verlander was only 15-12 with a 4.54 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP a season ago, his 3.74 FIP indicated that luck simply was not on his side. His fortune could very well change as a result of an improved defense this year.

Brad Faber is a Senior Writer and Sabermetrics Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Brad_Faber, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on LinkedIn or Google. 

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