Why Justin Verlander Makes Detroit Tigers the Team To Beat in American League

The 2011 Major League Baseball season is coming to an end.

We've seen all sorts of highs: Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit, Mariano Rivera becoming the all-time leader in saves passing Trevor Hoffman, Justin Verlander's 20th win and second no-hitter of his career.

We've seen all the lows, too. The Minnesota Twins, who many projected to win the American League Central Division, finished 20-something games out. The Houston Astros, who are only six years removed from a World Series, are the bottom-feeders in the National League and the Baltimore Orioles, who had so much promise when Buck Showalter took over as manager last season, are in last place in the American League East.

Long story short, the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers are the team to beat in the American League for one reason—Justin Verlander.

When Verlander came into the league in 2005, he had a lot of promise. High-90s fastball, biting 12-6 curveball; he stood at 6'5" and he just had the look of a Detroit Tigers pitcher. In 2006, he propelled the Tigers to a World Series. Sure, they had Kenny Rogers, and I am in no way overshadowing the job he did, but JV was the anchor of that rotation.

In 2007, Verlander turned in an encore performance when he pitched a no-hitter in Detroit June 12 against Milwaukee. Even against a bottom-feeder offense like Milwaukee's, a no-no is still hard to come by. Since then, Verlander has proved his worth as anchor of this Tigers pitching rotation.

This season, his numbers have been astronomical. Verlander stands at 24-5, has a no-hitter, a near second no-hitter, is the American League leader in strikeouts and a clear-cut front-runner to land the AL Cy Young. If baseball's "experts" would open their eyes, Verlander would be the clear-cut AL MVP. Alas, we might have to wait another few years to see that.

The Tigers offense, led by offseason prize Victor Martinez and Miguel Cabrera, got a resurgence from shortstop Jhonny Peralta and a monster season by catcher Alex Avila. Manager Jim Leyland seems to be pressing all the right buttons, just as he did in 2006. Now, he has the first Tigers division title since 1987 and first in the Central Division in his back pocket.

Newcomers Doug Fister and Delmon Young have been keys to the Tigers' success, sure, but there is no discrediting that Verlander is the reason the Tigers are the team to beat.

One thing is certain: No matter how well Verlander does the rest of the way this season and into the playoffs, he is the reason the Tigers are the team to beat in the American League Central and will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.