Should Justin Verlander be crowned the 2022 AL Cy Young Award winner? 

To say that Justin Verlander's 2022 season was anything less than incredible would be blasphemous. The 39-year-old starting pitcher continued to prove that age is just a number as he dominated the 2022 season, making him a front-runner for his 3rd Cy Young Award. According to vegasinsider.com, Verlander is the hands-down favorite to win the award, currently sitting at -10,000 odds of winning.

Not only did Verlander deliver one of the best seasons of his illustrious career, but he also had one of the best American League seasons of all time. He finished the season with an ERA of 1.75 while recording 185 strikeouts and posting an 18-4 record for the Houston Astros.

"Verlander probably wrapped up his third AL Cy Young Award tonight. His 1.75 ERA is the lowest for a qualified AL pitcher since Pedro Martinez, who had a 1.74 ERA in 2000 (excluding the shortened 2020 season)." - Brian McTaggart

The American League Cy Young was a tight race throughout the season thanks to strong seasons from Dylan Cease, Shane McClanahan, and Alek Manoah. In the end, Verlander simply out-performed and out-lasted his younger counter-parts.

While Verlander missed time in August with a calf-injury, he was able to return after 3 weeks and pick up where he left off. Statistically, the race for the AL Cy Young has ended, and Verlander should find himself back on top of the pitching world.

"Justin Verlander just turned in his last start of the regular season. At age 39, his 1.75 ERA was the best of his career. He won MVP in 2011 with a 2.40 ERA" - Talkin' Baseball

Justin Verlander's return from Tommy John Surgery

Another reason why Justin Verlander's 2022 season was even more impressive than what the stats detail is the fact that he missed the entire 2021 season due to Tommy John Surgery. At his age, it seems that the injury could have been career-ending. The surgery usually requires a minimum of one year to recover, and it is unclear if the pitcher will be able to return to previous form.

However, Justin Verlander is a different breed of pitcher and surpassed all expectations for him coming into the 2022 season. The future Hall of Fame pitcher managed to maintain his pitch velocity, something that fades when a pitcher ages or comes off of Tommy John. Verlander's fastball averaged a 95MPH velocity, which aligns with his entire career.