For the first time in 11 years, Justin Verlander took the mound in a Toledo Mud Hens uniform. The resulting five scoreless innings in his rehab start Tuesday night against the Triple-A Iowa Cubs could put him in line to make his long-awaited return to the Major League mound.
What was expected to be a test of live-game action for the 43-year-old Verlander, who built up his arm with simulated games over the past couple weeks, turned out to not be much of a challenge. He allowed just four hits, three of them singles, and no walks while striking out three. He threw 48 of his 64 pitches for strikes, and didn’t allow a ball in play over 99 miles per hour against an Iowa lineup that included several recent Major Leaguers.
The Mud Hens prevailed in a 16-1 laugher, earning Verlander his first career Triple-A victory. The right-hander famously came to the Majors straight from Double-A back in 2006, and Tuesday's outing marked only his fifth outing at Triple-A, including two rehab starts with Toledo in 2015 and two more with Sugar Land in 2024 when he was with the Astros.
While Verlander threw five pitch types on Tuesday, he leaned on his four-seam fastball and slider, which accounted for all 10 of his swinging strikes. His fastball averaged 93.5 miles per hour but topped out at 95.1, accounting for seven of his 10 called strikes. He confidently threw the heater at the top of the zone to fan Cubs No. 7 prospect Jonathan Long to end his first inning.
Verlander had to sit in the dugout through an eight-run Mud Hens outburst in the top of the fifth inning, but came back to retire the side in the bottom half, allowing only an infield single. He struck out Long again, this time chasing a slider.
“It’s good to see him on the mound,” said Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, who watched video of the outing Wednesday morning. “Getting him his fifth [inning] took 30 minutes [because] our guys hit around. Never complain about that. It was good to see him active. I know execution, we’re going to look at. We’re going to look at his stuff. I was glad that he bounced back into the fifth and be able to build his pitch count. He was very efficient early. But that’s the only conclusion I’ve drawn without talking to him.”
Not bad for a pitcher who hadn’t faced live-game action since March 30 at Arizona. Verlander went on the injured list a few days later with left hip inflammation, and his road back has been slowed as he worked on adjusting his mechanics to move more efficiently and pitch more effectively.
Whether Tuesday’s work is the final hurdle to rejoining the Tigers' rotation remains to be seen. Hinch wanted to see how Verlander fared before determining how long his rehab assignment might last, but he said a second rehab start could be on the table. The Tigers set their rotation for this weekend against the Mariners with Framber Valdez (Friday), Keider Montero (Saturday) and Jack Flaherty (Sunday).
With another scheduled off-day coming up on Monday, Detroit could go without a fifth starter until the following weekend in Cleveland. By that point, the Tigers could have Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal also nearing return from the injured list. Ty Madden, who started on Monday against the Rays in place of Mize, is moving to the bullpen for now.
“You look longer, over the next couple weeks, we are hoping to get a couple of guys back,” Hinch said. “JV threw last night in his first rehab game. Casey’s doing really well. Tarik’s doing really well. Over time, we’re going to need to figure out what’s best to put this pitching staff back together.”