Wherefore Art Thou Justin Verlander?

From 2009 to 2012, Justin Verlander was the best pitcher in baseball. In those four campaigns, the 6'5" Virginian averaged 34 starts, a 20-8 record, 2.95 ERA, more strikeouts than innings and a 4-1 K-BB ratio. He finished first, second, third and 11th in the Cy Young voting those four years and was worth 26 wins to the Tigers.

He did a little less of everything in 2013, and then last year, at age 31, he cratered. His 4.54 ERA was well-north of average (that is, worse) and he fanned just seven batters per nine. He was worth about a win to Detroit, about the same as Zach Duke, who hurled all of 59 middle innings for Milwaukee.

Will the real Justin Verlander please stand up? The Tigers, recently shorn of their new-now-old ace Max Scherzer, need a clue about which Verlander they will get.

There's tempered good news, according to Baseball Prospectus's PECOTA projection. It sees Verlander bouncing back to 2013, with a 3.30 ERA, nearly a strikeout an inning and 3.5 wins against replacement. That might not be ace material, but it'll play.

But not so fast, my friend. The Steamer projection system forecasts continued scuffling for the Detroit righty. That system has him pitching fewer innings at a 4.05 ERA, continued diminished strikeouts and just two wins against replacement.

See, they're as bad at this as you are. We know one thing for sure about these two projections: at least one of them is wrong. One system says he'll return to a diminished version of his old form; the other thinks there's a new norm. What you're seeing is one system valuing recency more than the other. And systems are just a series of assumptions that get tested and re-tested thousands of times. 

Let's examine some other intriguing projections:

Corey Kluber
Corey Kluber slashed nearly three runs from his ERA over two years en route to a Cy Young in 2014. PECOTA is unimpressed, mostly because of a mediocre six-year Minor League journey that preceded his rise to the Bigs. Its forecast: 12-12, 4.08 and 0.7 WAR.

Steamer is more sanguine, though it's regressing only to the mean: 13-9, 3.21, 4.0 WAR. (Worth noting: there isn't a seamhead in America who wouldn't take the over on the PECOTA line.)

Prince Fielder
Pitchers are puzzles inside riddles wrapped in shoulder tendonitis. Hitters are easier to project. So let's take a look at Prince Fielder, who blasted 38 taters a year from '07 to '12, while getting aboard at a 40% clip. In 2013 he slipped to 25 homers and a .362 on base before being shipped to the hitting zone in Texas. Alas, Fielder succumbed to a herniated disc after a 42-game power outage last season.

PECOTA both gives Fielder a pass but also projects the whompin' days are over at age 31 and weight 275. It projects just 23 homers and three WAR. Steamer agrees: 24 homers and two-and-a-half WAR.

ARod
You're probably wondering about Alex Rodriguez. Projecting him is easy. That's because ARod, no matter what any projection system thinks about his talent, is certifiably 40 years old. Debilitations of the body and the batting line are a guarantee. PECOTA says .248, 10 home runs in 300 at bats. Steamer projects .235, 11 home runs in 400 at bats. He needs but six to catch Willie Mays. Yankee brass may have something to say about all those at bats.

Matt Harvey
The Dark Knight of Gotham breezed through the minors and wowed the baseball world in his 36 lifetime starts (2.30 ERA, 4.5-1 K-BB ratio) before Tommy Johnning his elbow in '13. Both systems project Harvey will continue to light it up but over less than a full season.
PECOTA: 10-8, 2.91, 151 innings, 153 K
Steamer: 11-8, 3.13, 163 innings, 175K

Matt Kemp
Kemp's career has been an elevator ride. His past four seasons have gone like this: 

• Up! MVP-type season.
• Down! Excellent but injury-shortened.
• Down! Lost season on offense and defense.
• Up! Very good at the plate. Fielding not so great.

Now he moves from the offensive hole in L.A. to the offensive black hole in San Diego, plus he has to face Clayton Kershaw a couple of times a year. The statistical crystal balls see the power and average returning, but not the glove. 
PECOTA: .270, 25 HR, 14 steals, 3.1 WAR
Steamer: .266, 20 HR, 8 steals, 1.9 WAR (in only 128 games)

So there are six of many projections. We'll look at the team projections over the next few days and return occasionally to individual players.