Justin Verlander is taking a page out of Tarik Skubal's book as he prepares for Tigers return

On Monday night, Justin Verlander will pitch his first start in a Tigers uniform since Aug. 30, 2017. While Tigers fans are bound to stay up late for the 10 PM start time out of sheer excitement, Verlander's still a big question for Detroit. How much does he have left in the tank?

The very young Tigers' excitement to have a future Hall of Famer in their clubhouse reflected the fanbase's, and Verlander immediately jumped in as a paragon of work ethic and leadership. He still asked Dillon Dingler for feedback on every pitch he threw during batting practice; he still went about his routine with the same competitive spirit as ever.

He's also taking some cues from his younger teammates too, though. During spring training, he said, "I've pretty much adopted Skubal’s entire program. I'm just trying to be like him. I'll let you guys know in a few weeks how that goes."

The Tigers' former ace wants to be like their current ace. They're sharing a roster. Their lockers at Comerica are going to be side by side. The most nostalgic of Tigers fans couldn't have written it better.

Justin Verlander copied Tarik Skubal's program en route to swan song season with Tigers

Verlander put up a 2.99 ERA in 14 starts in his second half with the Giants last season, turning on the afterburners after pectoral soreness (and then paternity leave) kept him off the mound for a little over a month and undoubtedly effected his performance in the first half (4.70 ERA over 15 starts).

There were some yellow flags in spring training. He made four starts (14 2/3 innings) and gave up 17 hits, seven for home runs. But his strikeout stuff was still as excellent as ever — 19 Ks.

The Tigers don't need Verlander to be the guy that he was from 2006 through the first half of 2017 ... but wouldn't it be nice if we saw even a little bit of that in what might finally be his last year not only in Detroit, but in the game?

There's really just one more item for Verlander to check off his career's bucket list: win a World Series with the team that he started out with. He's no longer in his prime, but both the Tigers and Verlander clearly believe he's still capable of contributing, and he's taking steps to prepare himself to do just that.

And for fans? It was never in doubt. We'll always bet on JV.