Houston Astros: The trek to 300 wins by Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke

Houston Astros Zack Greinke and Justin Verlander might win 300 games. But how soon could they get there? Read on for more about this intriguing journey.

While MLB continues to iron out the details concerning resuming baseball as quickly as possible, the Houston Astros will most likely enter the season with Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke as their 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation.

Here at House of Houston, we dig deeper to give you stats others may not. For instance, did you know that both Greinke and Verlander rank in the top 160 all-time for innings pitched in major league history? As a matter of fact, following Bartolo Colón’s retirement, Verlander leads all active players in innings pitched, trailed closely by Greinke in second place.

Oh, and don’t look now, but a Colón comeback to the bigs might be on the horizon as he inked a deal in February to play professionally in Mexico. Who can forget when in 2018 a 44-year old Colón, then a Texas Ranger, nearly no-hit the Astros at Minute Maid, becoming the oldest player to take a no-hitter into the eighth inning?

Both Astros starting pitchers were born in 1983. However, Greinke debuted roughly two years before Verlander. Nonetheless, over the years Verlander has thrown more innings and faced roughly 450 more batters than his Astros teammate.

The span between the mileage on Verlander’s and Greinke’s pitching arms over the course of their careers remains close. Verlander has tossed 110 more regular-season innings than Greinke—roughly a little more than half a season’s worth of work for a starter.

Now in their mid-30s, both players have to be eyeing finishing their careers strong for a shot at Cooperstown. This naturally leads to the question—how long would it take for each pitcher to reach the 300-win milestone?