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Justin Verlander 2023 MLB Player Outlook: Draft Position Undervalued Off Of CY Young Season
2 years agoNew York Mets starting pitcher Justin Verlander is coming off his third career Cy Young Award in his first season back from Tommy John surgery and becomes the co-owner of the highest annual contract value in the league as he's set to earn $43.3 million for each of the next two seasons. The former Houston Astro pitched just six innings in 2020 and missed all of the 2021 season due to the surgery but showed zero ill effects in his return, posting a 1.75 ERA/2.49 FIP along with a healthy 27.8% K-rate. Verlander has also cut down on his walks as he's aged, posting a BB% of 5% or better across the last four seasons. Despite pitching in a relatively weak AL West, Verlander's draft stock is unaffected by a switch to the NL East despite increased competition from the likes of the Phillies and Braves. He's posted a K-BB of at least 6.38 in each of his last four seasons, averaged 95.1 mph on his four-seam fastball, and should be in line for plenty of wins on a quality Mets club that tied for fifth in runs scored last season. Verlander is trending at a 51 ADP but has gone as early as 32nd, while we suggest targeting him closer to the latter than the former given his Steamer projections of 31 starts, 27.8 K%, 3.36 ERA, 3.30 FIP, and 13 wins for the 2023 campaign.
