Rookie of the Year: Justin Verlander, 2006

Pitcher, Detroit Tigers

 

Age:  23

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’5”    Weight: 235

Prior to 2006:

A native of Virginia, Verlander was impressive pitching at Goochland High School where he struck out 394 batters over three varsity seasons. A bout with strep throat as a senior damaged his draft prospects. Moving on to Old Dominion University, the lanky hurler’s velocity increased and he was 7-6 with a 1.90 ERA as a freshman. In 2003, his record dropped to 7-6 with a 2.40 ERA, although he led the Colonial Athletic Association in strikeouts with 139 in 116 innings. He pitched for the silver medal-winning USA team in the Pan American Games as well. An all-conference selection as a junior in 2004, Verlander was chosen by the Tigers in the amateur draft with the second overall pick. Signing with Detroit, he was initially assigned to Lakeland of the high Class A Florida State League in 2005 where he posted a 9-2 tally with a 1.67 ERA and 104 strikeouts over 86 innings pitched. Promoted to the Erie SeaWolves of the Class AA Eastern League later in the season, he was 2-0 in seven starts with a 0.28 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 32.2 innings. Demonstrating excellent control, his repertoire featured a fastball and breaking ball. Verlander received a late call-up to the Tigers and after going 0-2 with a 7.15 ERA, he was shut down due to a tired arm. He joined Detroit’s rotation for the 2006 season.

2006 Season Summary

Appeared in 30 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 30

Games Started – 30

Complete Games – 1 [17, tied with 24 others]

Wins – 17 [4, tied with Randy Johnson, Freddy Garcia & Kenny Rogers]

Losses – 9

PCT - .654 [9, tied with Freddy Garcia]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 1 [5, tied with sixteen others]

Innings Pitched – 186

Hits – 187

Runs – 78

Earned Runs – 75

Home Runs – 21

Bases on Balls – 60 [18, tied with Randy Johnson & Felix Hernandez]

Strikeouts – 124

ERA – 3.63 [7, tied with Chien-Ming Wang]

Hit Batters – 6

Balks – 1 [15, tied with many others]

Wild Pitches – 5 

Midseason Snapshot: 10-4, ERA - 3.01, SO - 69 in 110.2 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 8 (in 6.2 IP) at Cleveland 7/26

10+ strikeout games – 0

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 2 (in 7 IP) at Texas 4/8, (in 7 IP) vs. KC Royals 7/15

Batting

PA – 2, AB – 1, R – 0, H – 0, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 0, SO – 0, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .000, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 1, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 38

Put Outs – 11

Assists – 24

Errors – 3

DP – 4

Pct. - .921

Postseason Pitching: G – 4 (ALDS vs. NY Yankees – 1 G; ALCS vs. Oakland – 1 G; World Series vs. St. Louis – 2 G)

GS – 4, CG – 0, Record – 1-2, PCT – .333, SV – 0, SHO – 0, IP – 21.2, H – 26, R – 17, ER – 14, HR – 5, BB – 10, SO – 23, ERA – 5.82, HB – 0, BLK – 1, WP – 3

Awards & Honors:

AL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

15^th in AL MVP voting, tied with Johnny Damon, NYY & Ichiro Suzuki, Sea. (7 points, 2% share)

7^th in AL Cy Young voting (2 points, 1% share)

AL ROY Voting:

Justin Verlander, Det.: 133 pts. – 26 of 28 first place votes, 95% share

Jonathan Papelbon, Bos.: 63 pts. – 45% share

Francisco Liriano, Min.: 30 pts. – 1 first place vote, 21% share

Kenji Johjima, Sea.: 10 pts. –  7% share

Jered Weaver, LAA: 8 pts. – 6% share

Nick Markakis, Balt.: 7 pts. – 1 first place vote, 5% share

Ian Kinsler, Tex.: 1 pt. – 1% share

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Tigers went 95-67 to finish second in the AL Central Division by 1 game behind the division-winning Minnesota Twins and qualifying for a Wild Card playoff spot. The pitching staff led the league in ERA (3.84), shutouts (16), and fewest runs allowed (675). The resurgent Tigers, under new manager Jim Leyland, put together a 59-29 first half to take the AL Central lead but faded enough during the second half to allow the Twins to beat them out for the division title on the season’s final day, although they still secured a wild card slot in the postseason. Won ALDS over the New York Yankees, 3 games to 1. Won ALCS over the Oakland Athletics, 4 games to 0. Lost World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 1 as Verlander lost both of his starts, including an unprecedented all-rookie matchup against St. Louis’ Anthony Reyes in the opening game.

Aftermath of ‘06:

The Tigers dropped to second place in the AL Central in 2007, but Verlander continued his development as he pitched a no-hitter against the Brewers and was an All-Star for the first time on his way to an 18-6 record with a 3.66 ERA and 183 strikeouts. Detroit struggled in 2008 and Verlander ended up leading the AL in losses with his 11-17 record and his ERA rose to 4.84. He still registered 163 strikeouts while pitching 201 innings. He rebounded in 2009 with a 19-9 tally and 3.45 ERA while topping the league in innings pitched (240) and strikeouts (269). Verlander had another strong season in 2010 in which he went 18-9 with a 3.37 ERA and 219 strikeouts. He had a big year in 2011 as the Tigers topped the division and he contributed a 24-5 record while leading the AL in ERA (2.40), innings pitched (251), and strikeouts (250). Along the way he no-hit Toronto in May. His reward was to receive both the league MVP and the Cy Young Award. In 2012, he took a no-hit bid against Pittsburgh into the ninth inning before having to settle for a one-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts. He went on to post a 17-8 mark while topping the circuit with 238.1 innings pitched and 239 strikeouts. He finished a close second in AL Cy Young balloting. The Tigers advanced to the World Series, helped by Verlander’s fine pitching in the ALDS and ALCS, but were swept by the Giants in the Series. Prior to the 2013 season, he signed a five-year, $140 million contract extension. He went 13-12 for the AL Central champs with a 3.46 ERA and 217 strikeouts and was also impressive in the postseason which resulted in the Tigers beating Oakland in the ALDS before coming up short against the Red Sox in the ALCS. In the offseason he underwent surgery to treat a sports hernia that was suffered during his conditioning regimen. He started off slowly in 2014 but finished strong to end up with a 15-12 tally and 4.54 ERA and 159 strikeouts while pitching 206 innings. Verlander missed the first two months of the 2015 season due to a right triceps strain. The result was a 5-8 mark with a 3.38 ERA and 113 strikeouts over the course of 133.1 innings. He rebounded in 2016 with a 16-9 record and 3.04 ERA while topping the AL with 254 strikeouts. He placed second in league Cy Young Award voting. With the Tigers struggling in 2017 and looking to re-tool, Verlander was dealt to the Houston Astros on August 31. 10-8 with Detroit, he went 5-0 the rest of the way to finish at 15-8 with a 3.36 ERA and 219 strikeouts. Houston topped the AL West and Verlander won two games in the ALDS victory over Boston and was MVP of the ALCS triumph over the Yankees thanks to another two wins. He suffered his first loss as an Astro in the World Series against the Dodgers, won by Houston in seven games (which later became tainted by allegations that the Astros stole opponents’ signs by use of electronic means). Houston won the AL West again in 2018 and Verlander contributed a 16-9 record with a 2.52 ERA and a league-leading 290 strikeouts. He placed second in league Cy Young voting. In 2019 he won the Cy Young Award due to a 21-6 tally with a 2.58 ERA and 300 strikeouts while leading the AL with 223 innings pitched. He had groin surgery in 2020 and pitched one game in the pandemic-shortened season due to an elbow injury that required “Tommy John” surgery and sidelined him for all of 2021. To date, Verlander has a 226-129 career major league record with a 3.33 ERA, 26 complete games, 3 shutouts, and 3013 strikeouts in 2988 innings pitched. With Detroit his record was 183-114 with a 3.49 ERA, 23 complete games, 7 shutouts, and 2373 strikeouts in 2511 innings. A two-time Cy Young Award winner, he has also been an eight-time All-Star (6 with the Tigers). Appearing in 31 postseason games, he has posted a 14-11 tally with a 3.40 ERA and 205 strikeouts over 187.2 innings. While his future remains uncertain, he has already proven to be one of the elite pitchers of his era. 

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.