And just like that, Justin Verlander's days of disappointing his Fantasy owners are over.
Because of one good start at Cleveland? Really?
Yes, really. See, it wasn't just the fact that the Tigers ace allowed one earned run in eight innings. It was how he did it, repeatedly hitting 100 mph with his fastball and going without a walk for the first time all year.
He looked like a different pitcher and basically was, according to his average fastball velocity of 96.1 mph. Prior to Wednesday, he had topped 95 only once all season.
Considering a mechanical adjustment accompanied the turnaround, I'm thinking it's legitimate. Verlander himself called it "a huge stride in the right direction."
I never completely lost faith in Verlander, dropping him to 15th in my starting pitcher rankings, but now he's back up to 12th. And another couple outings like this one could easily vault him back into the top five.