Heading into the 2015 MLB season, few knew what to expect from Detroit Tigers‘ starting pitcher Justin Verlander. Although the 2011 AL Cy Young and MVP award winner was regarded by many as the best pitcher in baseball a not-so-distant time ago, the past couple of years have seen him take a step back and even lose his status as the Tigers’ ace.

However, while Verlander was sidelined for the first two-plus months of the season with a triceps injury, he is now surprising everyone. In what may turn out to be one of the better stories of the year, the still-only 32-year-old is proving that he is still ace material.

On Wednesday night, Verlander brought a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Angels into the ninth inning, but it was broken up by leadoff double off the bat of Chris Iannetta that landed on the left field chalk. That would turn out to be the only hit that he would surrender.

Of course, it certainly would have been nice if Verlander could have notched the third no-hitter of his career, but the one-hit shutout was still a tremendous sign for the Tigers. On the season, Verlander is now 2-6 with a 3.45 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. Over his last season starts, however, he has a 1.38 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP.

Despite his recent stretch of quality starts, some may still be inclined to argue that it is too early to say that Verlander is all the way back to being the guy he was from 2009-12. Right now, though, he is clearly the best starting pitcher the Tigers have, making him the ace by default at the very least.

With the Tigers’ season now all but lost and plenty of questions remaining heading into 2016, Verlander’s resurgence could not have happened at a better time. The Tigers’ starting rotation has been a major reason for the team’s struggles, posting a 4.55 ERA that currently ranks 26th in baseball.

If Verlander can continue pitching the way he has recently, it will help the team immensely going forward. It may even lessen the need for the Tigers to add a front-of-the-rotation arm over the offseason.

Brad Faber is a Senior Writer and Sabermetrics Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Brad_Faber, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on LinkedIn or Google.