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

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Justin Verlander of the Houston Astros (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

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If Verlander averages 15 victories a year for the next half a decade, he will earn exactly 300 wins before the end of the 2024 season. While it might seem impossible to average 15 wins for any elite pitcher over a five-year stretch that features a shortened 2020 season, remember that doing so remains realistic when factoring in full, future seasons featuring opportunities for higher win

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totals.

Nevertheless, just how few games the 2020 season will feature remains hard to speculate. Most recently, CBS Sports reported that the powers that be are deliberating a 76-game regular season. For Greinke or Verlander, winning nine—even 10 contests—in a schedule featuring less than 80 games presents a very difficult, but attainable goal to strive for. That translates to the equivalent of a 19- to 20-win pace for each starter over the course of a traditional 162-game season.

Grienke likely will not hit 225 career wins until late 2021 or even 2022—where Verlander’s win total currently rests now. However, so long as Greinke keeps making dominant starts and staying healthy, look for him to approach 300 wins as early as the tail end of the 2025 season. In other words, should Greinke win eight to ten games during this upcoming season, and average 15 wins for approximately five to six seasons after 2020, he should approach the 300-win mark.

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Of course, nothing is guaranteed. Over 19,000 athletes have played in the majors, and only 24 pitchers have won at least 300 regular-season games. Nevertheless, Greinke and Verlander have a puncher’s chance. And sometimes in this beautifully unpredictable game called baseball, that remains all any player can ask for.

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