Justin Verlander’s Hall of Fame resume just got a little shinier.
The Houston Astros ace passed the great Greg Maddux on the MLB’s all-time strikeout list, entering the top 10 with the 3,372nd punchout of his career. Next on the list: Walter Johnson with 3,509.
Verlander got there with an elevated fastball against Oakland Athletics infielder Abraham Toro, his fourth strikeout in two innings.
This feat sounds natural for a player as durable and talented as Verlander, but it’s worth considering that the 41-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery four years ago, with no guarantee that he’ll be as good at his age would be as before.
Since then, he has struck out 355 in 371 1/3 innings with a 2.59 ERA for the Astros and New York Mets, winning his third Cy Young Award in 2022.
Forget Nolan Ryan, will a future pitcher catch Justin Verlander?
In the future, Verlander may be remembered as one of the last of a certain class of pitchers.
Only two active pitchers are close to Verlander on the all-time strikeouts list: Max Scherzer, 12th on the list and right behind him with 3,367, and Clayton Kershaw, who is 21st with 2,944. The following pitchers currently on a 40-man roster: Chris Sale, who ranks 60th with 2,259, and Gerrit Cole, 72nd with 2,152.
The next highest pitcher among Cole’s age 33: 31-year-old Aaron Nola, who ranks 174th with 1,642. The career strikeout leader among pitchers under the age of 30 is…Lucas Giolito. At 1,077.
As things stand now, it’s hard to see any member of the next wave of pitchers racking up enough innings to get anywhere near Verlander in the top 10. Scherzer and Kershaw are both recovering from serious injuries, but could see a few more seasons upon their return. Cole was able to string together a few more 200 strikeout seasons and entered hallowed territory. Every other established pitcher should string together a string of health that isn’t just seen in today’s game.
That’s ironic given the current strikeout-heavy state of affairs, but it’s also part of the problem. To make it to the majors you have to throw hard, and to throw hard you have to throw with high effort, and to throw with high effort you probably have to accept a few injuries here and there. In addition to flamethrowing pitchers breaking down on a regular basis, we are also dealing with the deaths of inning eaters who also start young.
Verlander was drafted out of college in 2004 and made his debut a year later at the age of 22. Kershaw was drafted out of high school and made his debut two years later at the age of 20. Scherzer made his debut at the age of 23, Cole at the age of 22. There are certainly pitchers who make it to the majors at that age today, but they’re entering a completely different world (see: Paul Skenes, who averaged 5.33 innings in his first three starts).
What really stands out about Verlander is his 12 seasons with at least 200 innings. That’s one fewer than any player in the Majors has thrown over the past two seasons.
List of all-time strikeouts in the MLB
1. Nolan Ryan, 5714
2. Randy Johnson, 4875
3. Roger Clemens, 4672
4. Steve Carlton, 4136
5. Bert Blyleven, 3701
6. Tom Seaver, 3640
7. Don Sutton, 3574
8. Gaylord Perry, 3534
9. Walter Johnson, 3509
10. Justin Verlander, 3,372
