Watch live from Lakeland, Fla., where Justin Verlander discusses his return to the Tigers after signing a one-year deal to return to the team.
Former general manager Dave Dombrowski and scouting director Greg Smith drafted Verlander second overall in 2004, then watched the former Old Dominion product blossom into a power-fastball, buckling-curveball strikeout machine. He won AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2006 while helping lead the Tigers to their first World Series berth in 22 years.
Five years later, Verlander led the American League with 24 wins, 250 strikeouts and a 2.40 ERA. Not only did he win MVP and Cy Young honors, he fronted a dominant rotation that hurled Detroit into a new era of glory. The Tigers won four consecutive AL Central titles from 2011-14, with Cy Young winners Verlander, Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello as the constants atop a rotation that also featured Aníbal Sánchez and David Price.