WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Astros pitcher Justin Verlander said Friday he emerged from his first live batting practice session of the spring feeling great about his progress as he inches closer to being able to get into games.

Verlander, who has been slow to build up at camp this year because of a now-resolved shoulder issue, threw about 20 pitches to a pair of prospects on the back fields Wednesday. He said he threw all his pitches, hitting 93 mph on the radar gun.

¡°For my first live BP on the back field with nobody there, that¡¯s about what I expected,¡± Verlander said.

The next step for Verlander is to throw another live batting practice session on Monday or Tuesday in Houston, where the Astros will play a pair of exhibition games against their Triple-A affiliate at Minute Maid Park. Verlander would likely need one or two more live BP sessions before going out on a Minor League rehab assignment.

Verlander and Jos¨¦ Urquidy (right forearm strain) will begin the season on the injured list, joining fellow starting pitchers Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia, both of whom will be out until midseason.

The Astros have set their starting rotation for the first three games of the season:

Thursday vs. Yankees: Framber Valdez
March 29 vs. Yankees: Cristian Javier
March 30 vs. Yankees: Hunter Brown

J.P. France and Ronel Blanco are expected to round out the rotation.

This will be the second year in a row Verlander will start the season on the IL. Last year, while with the Mets, he injured his arm in his final start of the spring and made his season debut May 4. Verlander started 16 games for New York before being traded back to Houston, for whom he played from 2017-22 and won two Cy Young Awards and two World Series titles.

Verlander said this year¡¯s Astros team has World Series aspirations once again.

¡°I think we¡¯re in the same place since I¡¯ve been here -- World Series-caliber team,¡± he said. ¡°Knock on wood, it seems like a lot of the guys have stayed healthy, which is kind of the hardest part of the spring. I feel like Spring Training is when you¡¯re most at risk for injuries. Obviously, a couple of guys didn¡¯t come out of it 100 percent, including myself. I¡¯m not far behind. We plan on trying to win the World Series. That¡¯s it.¡±

The three-time Cy Young Award winner is entering the second season of a two-year deal he signed with the Mets last winter. The contract contains a $35 million vesting option for 2025 that is triggered if Verlander throws 140 innings this season. New York will pay half of the option if it vests.