Remember the mechanical tweaks that Justin Verlander made to begin August?
Here are his numbers from that point forward including the playoffs:
97.2 IP, 110:22 K:BB, 8 HR, 2.49 ERA and 1.003 WHIP.
Check out his velocity trends over the course of the season particularly on the fastball:
Verlander went 25th overall in the NFBC-style slow mock I participated in a few weeks back, so perhaps the market will correct to reflect his strong finish, if it hasn't already started to do so.
In many drafts last spring, Verlander was part of a trio in the 12-20th overall range that included Clayton Kershaw and Stephen Strasburg.
During mixed Tout Wars, Verlander sold for $29 to Al Melchoir of CBS -- it was the highest amount paid for a starting pitcher in that auction (Kershaw and Strasburg both sold for $28). On the AL-only side, Lawr Michaels of Mastersball shelled out $31 for Verlander, where David Price ($28, Joe Sheehan), Felix Hernandez ($24, Sheehan), Yu Darvish ($24, Matthew Berry) and Jered Weaver ($24, Larry Schechter) rounded out the top-five starting pitchers.
What will the price be at the 2014 draft table? Where would you be willing to take Verlander in the NFBC Main Event (15-team, mixed, no trading)? Will Verlander still fetch something close to top-five AL starter money in Tout?
Could the increasing size of the top tier of arms lead to a slight discount on Verlander with his overall numbers (3.46 ERA, 1.31 WHIP) presenting a relative eyesore?