Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander told Brian McTaggart of MLB.com that his first live batting practice session of the spring has him feeling great about his progress.
Verlander has been dealing with shoulder issues that have forced him to build up slowly at camp this year. McTaggart wrote that he threw about 20 pitches to a pair of prospects on the back fields Wednesday, hitting 93 mph on the radar and throwing all of his pitches.
“For my first live BP on the back field with nobody there, that’s about what I expected,” Verlander said.
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Verlander’s next step is to throw another session on Monday or Tuesday in Houston when the Astros return home to Minute Maid Park for a couple of exhibition games. According to McTaggart, Verlander will mostly likely need one or two more live batting practice sessions before going out on a minor league rehab assignment.
Verlander’s progress is good news for the Astros who will begin the season with him, José Urquidy (right forearm strain), Lance McCullers Jr., and Luis Garcia on the injured list.
Some updates from rainy Astros camp:
— Hunter Brown will start the third game of the season
— Verlander will another live BP Monday or Tuesday
— Kessinger may take ground balls tomorrow
— Valdez threw about 80 pitches today on back field— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 22, 2024
This will be the second straight season that Verlander will open the season on the IL. Last year, while with the New York Mets, he injured his arm in his final start of the Grapefruit League and made his National League debut on May 4. He was traded to Houston after 16 starts.
The former first-round pick out of Old Dominion has been one of the most dominant pitchers of this generation. He has a career record of 257-141 and earned run average of 3.24 since making his debut with the Detroit Tigers in 2005. He has been named an All-Star nine times, an American League Most Valuable Player award, won three American League Cy Young Awards, won two World Series titles, and was named the American League Championship Series MVP in 2017.
Houston opens their regular season at home against the New York Yankees on Thursday, March 28, and will send Framber Valdez to the mound followed by Cristian Javier on March 29 and Hunter Brown on March 30. Per McTaggart, J.P. France and Ronel Blanco are expected to round out the rotation.
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