Verlander to start game 2 for Tigers Monday!

[Dannomyte]

Richmond Times-Dispatch Jul 1, 2005


Justin Verlander will realize his dream a little quicker than he thought.

Less than a year into his first professional season, the former Goochland High and Old Dominion standout is scheduled to make his major-league debut for the Detroit Tigers on Monday.

The hard-throwing right-hander has been told he will start the second game of a day-night doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. The game is scheduled for a 7:05 p.m. start.

It appears Verlander will be sent back to Double-A Erie (Pa.) after the start, but that remains to be seen.

"You never know what can happen," Verlander said. "They told me [yesterday] that they had a sixth spot [in the rotation] open and I was the guy. I'm pretty stoked about it."

In two appearances for the SeaWolves, Verlander is 1-0 and has not been scored on in 14 innings. He's allowed only five hits and three walks while striking out 18.

Verlander said he will pitch one inning tonight against Reading in Erie, his final tuneup for Monday.

"Obviously, there will be some nerves involved [at Cleveland]," said the 22-year-old. "But I've pitched in some nerve-wracking situations before."

Verlander, the second overall pick in last year's amateur draft, opened the season at Single-A Lakeland (Fla.) and went 9-2 with a 1.67 ERA in 13 starts. In 86 innings, he fanned 104 and walked only 19.

Earlier this week, Baseball America listed Verlander as its hottest prospect. He's considered the Tigers' No. 3 overall prospect and will pitch for the United States team in the Futures game July 10 in Detroit. - John Packett


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[moochman]

Wow, this is fantastic. This kid needs to get a look and see what the bigs are like. Should be a great challenge facing the Injuns, who are starting to hit the ball again. I hope that have Pudge catch him and they give him a lot of slack. It's not as important that he throw 5-6 good innings as it is that they let him try to figure things out a after if he has a bad inning. A very high posibility when playing Cleveland. Can't wait to see how the pros handle his 98 MPH heater

I would like once again to thank the Tigers and our local free TV networks for having the foresight to not settle on a contract. The game will not be televised...none of the Indian games will be save the Monday day game that ESPN is picking up.

[mcqfesijiba]

Interesting. Not the decision I would make, but we can only hope for the best from Verlander. This clearly shows that Baugh has no place in this teams plans, as he's pitched well enough for the most part to earn a look in Detroit this season.