Justin Verlander wasn't great for most of 2013. He was fine, perhaps even must-start, but he wasn't the ace everyone drafted him to be.
Most everyone, myself included, thought he'd get back to that level in 2014 since he pretty much already did down the stretch last year, posting a 0.26 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and 13.6 strikeouts per nine innings over his final five starts, including the playoffs.
But now nine starts into 2014, that doesn't seem to be happening. Instead, everything that plagued Verlander in the first few months last year is plaguing him again.
His control has only gotten worse since last year, when he turned in his worst walk rate since 2008. Now averaging 3.6 walks per nine innings, one of his strengths has become a liability.
And the stuff itself isn't what it used to be. Averaging 93.9 miles per hour on his fastball, he's still one of the hardest-throwers in the game, but sitting in the mid-90s instead of the high-90s gives him a lower margin for error. He's more hittable, and it shows in both his WHIP and strikeout rate.
My goal here isn't to cause you to panic and trade Verlander for 50 cents on the dollar, but to give you the chance to adjust your expectations. For all but a handful of his last 56 starts, Verlander has been a good, but not great, starting pitcher. He'll give you innings, wins and most likely strikeouts, but as I said on Thursday's Fantasy Baseball Today, I'm prepared to move him below David Price and Masahiro Tanaka in my rankings.