Today's Target: Justin Verlander

Vitals: 24 yo RHP. Born in Manakin Sabot, VA. 6-5, 200. 19-12, 3.66 career. 2-1, 2.75 in 2007. $1.03 million salary.

Arsenal: Mid to high 90s fastball, sweeping curve, changeup.

Recent Battles: Beat King Felix last April in a much-touted battle of young fireballers. Held M's to 4 hits in seven innings.

Our Best Weapon: Beltre's our best fastball hitter. Hopefully he can lay off of Verlander's soft stuff and gear up for the heater.

The Internet Says: Verlander has a terrific pickoff move. At one point last season, he'd picked off more runners than had attempted to steal off of him.

Jeff Weaver (0-5, 15.35) goes for the M's. Game time is 10:05 am. No TV.

Justin Verlander [ESPN]
Detroit 6, Seattle 4, 4/23/06 [Baseball Reference]
Verlander vs. Mariner batters [ESPN]
Verlander, Granderson, Maybin and more [The Detroit Tiger Weblog]