Braves sportscaster tempers Justin Verlander expectations with Paul Skenes' Cy Young contender season

Former Major League pitcher and sportscaster CJ Nitkowski believes Justin Verlander can deliver about 25 starts this season, racking up roughly 160 innings for the San Francisco Giants.

During an appearance on MLB Network Radio published on February 25, Nitkowski took a deep dive into what the Giants can realistically expect from the 42-year-old Justin Verlander amid his injury history and age.

Nitkowski stated:

“Realistically, if he (Verlander) can give you 25 (starts) and they’re pretty productive, and he’s in the threes (ERA) like he usually is in his career, and last year wasn’t his best at near five, and a half, but could he bounce back and give you 20 to 25 and in the high threes? Absolutely, he can.”

The comments underscore how the bar has been lowered for pitchers over the last few seasons. Nitkowski compared how pitchers, like Paul Skenes, can receive consideration for major awards despite not putting up astronomical numbers.

Nitkowski explained:

“Nowadays, you can win big awards making 27, 28 starts. Paul Skenes finished top three in the Cy Young with 133 innings. Teams are more and more tolerant with it and okay with it, if that number comes down.”

The Giants shouldn’t expect 250 innings like in years past from Verlander. But as Nitkowski pointed out, Verlander will bring intensity and competitive drive to the mound this season.

Justin Verlander makes spring debut for San Francisco Giants

Justin Verlander hit the mound for the first time this spring, pitching two innings on Monday in a preseason game against the Colorado Rockies.

Verlander tossed two frames allowing a solo home run and striking out one batter. Interestingly enough, the start comes just a few days after Verlander turned 42.

Verlander retired all three hitters he faced via flyball outs in his second inning. The two-time World Series winner commented on how his slider didn’t react the way he expected. He said (via MLB.com):

“Obviously, I hung the slider that I gave up the home run on. I noticed it on the fly ball. The ball just never came down. I wasn’t sure if it was going to go out or not, and it just went out by a fair bit."

Despite a solid first outing this spring, Verlander will be looking to improve. However, as he stated, he’ll try to take things easy and not fixate on results. Verlander concluded:

“I think a lot of pitchers, me in particular, have a tendency to be a little overcritical and maybe tinker when you don’t need to sometimes, so I’m trying to balance that. This is the first time I’ve had competition. I’ll think about it. I’ll be thinking about it all night. I won’t get much sleep.”

Even at his age, Verlander’s fiery competitiveness is still there. The three-time Cy Young winner is 38 wins away from 300. He’s stated that it’s a personal milestone he wants to achieve by the time his career is over.

It remains to be seen if Justin Verlander still has enough to become the 25th pitcher in Major League History to reach 300 career wins.