Justin Verlander Has Been Both Completely Elite and Incredibly Worrisome This Season

Justin Verlander is undoubtedly one of the best pitchers of his era, and at the age of 36, the former MVP is still going strong for the Astros.

He's been the ace of Houston's rotation this year, but his dominance has also come with a worrisome knack for the long ball. Though Verlander has fanned an astounding 147 batters this year, he's also allowed 23 home runs, becoming the first pitcher to ever reach July with those marks.

It's hard to put a finger on this one. Never before has a pitcher been able to simultaneously befuddle batters and get befuddled by them quite like this.

The 23 home runs are the most allowed by a pitcher this year and are the fourth-most he's ever allowed in a season in his career.

Yet, for all of his troubles with the long ball, he's still somehow been every bit his usual self, perhaps even better. Verlander owns a 2.86 ERA in 2019, his 0.794 WHIP is the lowest mark in the majors, and his 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings is the second-highest rate of his career.

Perhaps the spike in dingers isn't entirely his fault. Baseballs have been flying out of the park at ridiculous rates this season, and home run records have been shattered with ease.

It could just be the result of juiced baseballs and the league's homer-happy trend. Time will tell how sustainable this trend is and whether or not he and the Astros can keep winning in spite of it.