Jered Weaver vs. Justin Verlander: Who's the Best Pitcher in the AL This Year?

With apologies to Josh Beckett and James Shields fans, there are two power pitchers who have stood above the rest in the AL this year.

The Detroit Tigers' Justin Verlander has thrown a no-hitter, a two-hitter and four complete games en route to a 9-3 record.

Not to be outdone, the Anaheim Angels' Jered Weaver has thrown three shutouts, four complete games and hasn't allowed more than four earned runs in a game all season.

Verlander and Weaver have had very similar careers to this point, starting with both being selected in the first round of the 2004 draft—being picked second and twelfth respectively.

Their career statistics are surprisingly similar.  Verlander has the edge in Wins and Ks while Weaver has a slight edge in WHIP and ERA.

Both are durable—they each average more than 31 starts in their full seasons—and appear to be just hitting their prime.

So how do you pick the best of the two this year?

It's like picking Alba or Biel, Caddyshack or Animal House, The Beastie Boys or the Chili Peppers...there's no right answer and I'm not gonna question anyone's choices.

They're all right answers, but I gotta pick one.

The Case For Justin Verlander

Verlander leads the AL in Wins, WHIP and strikeouts, is second in opponents batting average and fourth in ERA.

He hasn't lost since April 27th and is an outstanding 5-0 with a 0.65 ERA over his last five starts—and this stretch doesn't even include the numbers for his no-hitter on May 7th at Toronto.

Verlander has also stepped up against good competition.

While Weaver's shutouts have come against the offensively challenged Minnesota Twins and Oakland A's, Verlander shutdown much better offenses—the Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians.

Against the Tigers' AL Central rivals, Verlander is 4-0 with a 1.69 ERA.

Verlander threw his second career no-hitter and it's seems inevitable that he soon will join the short list of men with three or more career no-hitters before too long.

He's got a nasty curveball, a wicked change-up, learned to throw a slider two years ago and, of course, has a fastball that still hits 100 MPH in the 9th inning.

15 of Verlander's 16 appearances have been quality starts.

The Case For Jered Weaver

After Monday's domination of the the Florida Marlins, Weaver lowered his ERA to a minuscule 2.01.  His WHIP is just a shade behind Verlander's at 0.92.

Weaver also has nine wins, but nothing has come cheap to him this season.

He receives the second lowest run support for qualified starters in the AL, nearly two full runs a game less than Verlander.

In his string of four losses from May 2nd to May 18th, Weaver went six innings in each and let up four runs twice and three runs twice.

Those are his bad starts.

Unlike Verlander, who was pounded for six runs in six innings on May 24th vs. the Rays, Weaver hasn't had a meltdown game.

He's gone out every start and given his team a great chance to win.

He's been incredibly consistent for an incredibly inconsistent team.

The Verdict

When you're talking about the best pitcher in the AL all season between these two guys, as much as it pains this Tiger fan to say—it has to be Jered Weaver.

His ERA has never gone above 2.45 all season.  Verlander's ERA is currently at a season low 2.54.

After his May 24th shelling against Tampa, it was 3.42.

If you're asking me to pick which player I start a franchise with, I probably pick Verlander...but that's not what we're talking about here.

Verlander has been good all season and incredible the last four weeks. 

Weaver has been incredible all season.