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

Updated Mar. 17, 2022 5:02 p.m. ET

Associated Press

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.

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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

OF Seiya Suzuki, Cubs: Chicago continued its rebuild

1B/DH Luke Voit, Yankees: The slugger was the AL home run champ during the abbreviated 2020 season, with 22 homers in just 56 games. He struggled with injuries in 2021

3B Matt Chapman, Blue Jays: The third baseman was a sabermetric darling during his 2018 and 2019 seasons with the Oakland A's, combining for 15.3 WAR over those two seasons. His production dropped off over the next two years, particularly at the plate, and the A's

1B Matt Olson, Braves: It's not easy taking over for a franchise icon, but that's the position for Olson,

SP Sonny Gray, Twins: Minnesota's trying to bounce back from a disappointing season and

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