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Justin Verlander remains one of baseball’s most enduring forces, even as 2025 tests his numbers. Sunday marked a milestone moment as he joined the elite 3,500-strikeout club, the 10th pitcher in history to do it, underscoring a career built on velocity, control and late-career resilience. His season, however, reads 1-9 with a 4.53 ERA after five innings of five runs on 11 hits versus Washington, a reminder that even legends have tough days. He’s with the Giants on a one-year deal and has signaled a clear wish to pitch in 2026, emphasizing that health — including his nerve-injury recovery — is progressively trending in the right direction. The broader arc—three Cy Youngs, nine All-Star selections, two World Series titles with the Astros, Hall-of-Fame pedigree—keeps his fantasy value intriguing: high upside when he’s healthy, but risk grows as age and workload mount. For fantasy managers, Verlander remains a prime example of veteran upside mixed with real durability questions, making him a candidate for staggered usage, contingent on health trends and depth-league decision points.

Verlander’s journey spans Detroit’s draft glory, Houston’s championship windows, a Mets chapter, and a return to the Astros’ orbit before landing with San Francisco. The milestone strikeout tally reinforces his standing among the game’s all-time greats, while the current season’s line tests managers’ patience and trust. His ongoing pursuit of 2026, paired with a still-present “stuff is there” narrative, suggests continued weekly value in formats that reward strikeouts and ratios, especially when favorable matchups align with a pitcher who can still miss bats. The Nationals outing is a microcosm of the larger story: elite credentials tempered by the inevitable aging curve, and a veteran who remains dedicated to competing at the highest level.