"I kind of dodged a bullet here" - Houston Astros' Justin Verlander relieved after reports indicate minor calf injury; Veteran pitcher heads for a short-term IL stint

The Houston Astros announced that their pitcher Justin Verlander would be placed on the 15-day IL effective August 29th. Verlander was hurt during his Sunday start against the Baltimore Orioles as he moved to cover first base. The Astros announced that the pitcher was dealing with a right calf injury.

The Astros announced that Verlander had an MRI done and it showed fascial disruption, but no muscle fiber disruption. This is good news as this means there is a connective tissue injury and not a muscle fiber injury. A connective tissue injury is more of a sprain or a strain. While painful, it won't take Verlander much time to recover.

Justin Verlander is having a great year so far. The ace has a 16-3 record, 1.84 ERA, and a 0.86 WHIP. Verlander leads the MLB in all three stats. He is the favorite to win the American League Cy Young award with the performances he has had this year.

Verlander has been impressing everyone not only because this is his 17th season, but because he is coming off of Tommy John surgery. The veteran missed much of the 2020 season, as well as the entire 2021 season, while he recovered from surgery. Since returning this season, the ace hasn't missed a beat.

Wstuff+ measures a pitcher's velocity, spin, break, and arm angle. Execution+ measures everything wstuff+ does, but also measures location. Since returning, you can see that Verlander has a little lower of a wstuff+ while having a higher execution+. This means he has great control over pitches that are well-above average.

As the Houston Astros get ready for a playoff push, they can afford to rest Verlander

Minnesota Twins v Houston Astros

The Houston Astros are currently in first place in the American League West. They hold a 12-game lead over the Seattle Mariners. With such a big lead in the division, the Astros can afford to let Verlander get healthy.

The Astros recently got Lance McCullers Jr. back, as the lefty has been on the IL since the end of last year. This prompted Dusty Baker to send starting pitcher Christian Javier to the bullpen as he has had a rocky season thus far. It seems like the Astros have an army of quality pitchers, and pitching is important in the playoffs. With a healthy Verlander, the Astros will be a scary team to face in October.