Justin Verlander Named AL Comeback Player of the Year Finalist

Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander was named a finalist for the comeback player of the year award.

Justin Verlander's award cabinet is already full to bursting. He's the owner of an MVP award, two Cy Youngs, the 2006 Rookie of the Year, nine All-Star selections, an ALCS MVP and a 2017 World Series ring with the Houston Astros.

Now, he's been nominated as a 2022 Players Choice finalist for the AL Comeback Player of the Year alongside Matt Carpenter and Mike Trout as well as AL Outstanding Pitcher alongside Dylan Cease and Alek Manoah.

Verlander seems like a shoo-in for the trophy. Not only is he likely to win that award, but it's likely he'll also take home 2022's AL Cy Young award too, that and the Player's Choice for AL Outstanding Pitcher, for which he was also nominated.

Sporting a 1.75 ERA over 175.0 innings, he was the best pitcher in the AL in 2022, if not the best in baseball. This all came after he hadn't pitched a full season since 2019, his age-36 season.

In 2020, he started only one game before a UCL tear and Tommy John surgery ended his season. Now at age-39, he's put on the best performance of his career.

Meanwhile, Trout came back from playing only 36 games in 2021 to post what was, without a doubt, an incredible season, but pedestrian by his standards. He slashed .283/.369/.630 with 40 home runs in 499 plate appearances.

Carpenter, meanwhile, began the season with Triple-A Round Rock and joined the New York Yankees in June after he was released. He slashed .305/.412/.727 with 15 home runs, granted it came in such a small sample size — 154 plate appearances — that it's hard to give those stats any credence.

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