Verlander's innings, Olson's at-bats garner spring interest

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Justin Verlander is one of the greatest pitchers of his generation with eight All-Star appearances, two Cy Young Awards, one MVP, one Rookie of the Year and a World Series title.

Now baseball fans are about to see how much the 39-year-old has left in the tank.

Verlander is working his way back from Tommy John surgery and has made just one appearance over the past two years. The right-hander was dominant in his last full season, winning 21 games to earn his second Cy Young in 2019.

The Astros and Verlander haven't decided on the pitcher's spring training workload, but when he takes the mound, it'll be sure to garner interest. Verlander said he's “a hair behind” where he'd normally be in spring training and wants to make sure he's not rushing his return.

“The last thing I wanted to do was build up, then pull back, and then build up again,” Verlander said.

Verlander's return is one of many storylines during this abbreviated spring training. Spring games were originally scheduled to being on Feb. 26 but didn't start until Thursday because of a 99-day lockout that pushed the sport's opening day to April 7. Eight teams started games on Thursday while the others begin Friday.

Here are a few more players to watch as games begin in the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues on Thursday and Friday:

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OF/3B Kris Bryant, Rockies: Colorado surprised much of baseball when it was able to grab Bryant on a $182 million, seven-year deal on Wednesday. He was the 2016 MVP after hitting 39 homers and leading the Chicago Cubs to the World Series title. He hasn't achieved that level of production since, but he's still undoubtedly one of the sport's top third basemen. His bat should play just fine in the thin air at Coors Field.

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source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Verlander-s-innings-Olson-s-at-bats-garner-17009966.php