Verlander was named the ODU Alumni Association's Male Athlete of the Year in 2004 and was the second overall pick in the 2004 Major League Baseball draft by the Detroit Tigers.

On July 4, 2006, at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, California, Verlander, Joel Zumaya, and Fernando Rodney each threw multiple fastballs over 100 mph (160 km/h).

[20] By the end of the season, Verlander had won the Triple Crown of pitching in the AL, leading the league in wins (24), strikeouts (250; tied for sixth most in Tigers history) and ERA (2.40).

Verlander also led the AL in innings pitched (251) and win-loss percentage (.828; sixth-best in Tigers history),[22] while posting a Major League best 0.92 WHIP.

The Tigers projected that Verlander might miss Opening Day in the aftermath of his surgery but he eventually recovered just in time for when pitchers and catchers reported to training camp in February 2014.

Verlander joined Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens as the only three American League pitchers in history to strike out 250 or more batters in a season after turning 33 years old.

[72] Following the season, Verlander was announced by the BBWAA as a finalist for the American League Cy Young Award, along with Corey Kluber and former teammate Rick Porcello.

[74] In a win over the Chicago White Sox on April 4, 2017, Verlander tied a franchise record for the most strikeouts on Opening Day with ten, becoming the first Tigers player to do so since Mickey Lolich in 1970.

[76] Seconds before the waiver trade deadline on August 31, the Tigers sent Verlander to the Houston Astros for prospects Franklin Pérez, Jake Rogers, and Daz Cameron.

[78] He started and won the AL West division-clinching game for the Astros on September 17, allowing one run and striking out ten Mariners batters over seven innings.

The Astros won the game on a ninth-inning walk-off double by shortstop Carlos Correa that drove home second baseman Jose Altuve.

[85] With a chance to clinch the series in Game 6, Verlander gave up three hits and two runs while striking out nine batters in six innings, but was tagged with the loss in a 3–1 final.

He struck out Shohei Ohtani in the top of the ninth inning for his 2,500th career strikeout, becoming the 33rd pitcher in Major League history to reach the milestone.

He posted his lowest ERA since his American League MVP and Cy Young Award-winning 2011 season and led the AL in strikeouts for the fifth time in his career.

[102] In the 2018 AL Cy Young Award voting announced on November 14, Verlander finished second to Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays by 15 points (169–154).

[104] Verlander made his 11th career Opening Day start on March 28, earning a 5–1 victory versus reigning Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and the Tampa Bay Rays.

He struck out seven in his next outing against the Seattle Mariners on June 6 to move into the top 20 on the all-time strikeouts list, surpassing Mike Mussina's total of 2,813.

[107] On June 18, Verlander struck out eight Cincinnati Reds batters to move past Mickey Lolich for 19th place on the all-time strikeouts list.

He joined Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Tom Seaver, Pedro Martinez, and Bob Gibson as the only pitchers with nine or more seasons of 200+ strikeouts.

Verlander and teammate Gerrit Cole became the first pair of starting pitchers to strike out 300+ hitters in the same season since Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling achieved the feat in 2002 for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

[135] On June 7, Verlander became the career active strikeout leader, passing Max Scherzer, after striking out twelve hitters over seven innings pitched in a 4–1 victory over the Mariners.

[137] He struck out ten over six innings in a 5–0 win over the A's on July 16, amounting to 3,121 career strikeouts, and moving him past Curt Schilling (3,116) and Bob Gibson (3,117) for 14th place all time.

[142] Verlander left a start versus Baltimore after three innings on August 28 due to sudden right calf discomfort and was placed on the 15-day IL for what an MRI revealed to be a mild rupture of the muscle fascia.

[143] In his return to the mound on September 16, Verlander hurled five hitless innings against the Athletics to lead the Astros to a 5–0 victory and secure a sixth consecutive postseason berth.

[144] In his final start of the regular season on October 4, Verlander authored a 10-strikeout, no-hit performance over five innings as Houston cruised to a 10–0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

[167] On September 30, Verlander threw 5 innings of shutout ball against the Arizona Diamondbacks in a tight 1–0 victory to help the Astros clinch a playoff berth for the seventh consecutive season.

[b][170] Verlander made his 35th career postseason start in Game 1 of the ALDS, the second most of all-time behind Andy Pettitte, throwing six shutout innings and helping lead the Astros to a 6–4 victory.

[177] As a college sophomore, Verlander pitched for the United States national baseball team in 2003 and helped the US win a silver medal in the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo.

[180] His four-seam fastball has an "elite" spin rate of over 2500 rpm according to Statcast, giving it a late "tailing" action that cuts inside to righties and away from lefties.

[citation needed] For his work with military veterans, Verlander was honored as one of the inaugural recipients of the Bob Feller Act of Valor Award in 2013.