Max Scherzer
39-Year-Old
15-Day IL
Injury Back
Est. Return 5/20/2024
2024 Stats
W-L
0-0
ERA
0.00
WHIP
0.00
K
0
SV
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Normally veteran pitchers are more stable than younger arms, but Scherzer did not follow that game plan in 2023 as his numbers were all over the place. While he maintained his streak of 12 consecutive seasons with a K-BB% of at least 20%, a rash of mid-season gopheritis pushed his ERA up to its highest full-season point since that aforementioned streak began in 2012. Scherzer allowed 10 of his 28 homers in July leading up to the trade to Texas but pitched well for Texas while his body began failing him until ultimately succumbing to back issues in the American League playoffs. Those same back issues still linger as Scherzer needed back surgery in the offseason and will miss at least the first half of the season as he tries to return to the mound before his 40th birthday this summer. Fantasy managers should obviously slide Scherzer down the charts to the end game to be safe. Read Past Outlooks
Hits 15-day IL, could return in May
The Rangers placed Scherzer (back) on the 15-day injured list Thursday.
ANALYSIS
According to Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News, Scherzer threw a bullpen session Tuesday, which is believed to be the first time he stepped back on the mound since undergoing surgery in December to address a herniated disc in his back. Scherzer said that his pitching arm feels good, and he estimated that he's in what would be the early February portion of his throwing program if he had been coming into a normal spring training rather than rehabbing from surgery. Rangers general manager Chris Young said Wednesday that there are no plans at this point to shift Scherzer to the 60-day injured list, per Buster Olney of ESPN, suggesting the veteran right-hander could be ready to rejoin the rotation before the end of May.
According to Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News, Scherzer threw a bullpen session Tuesday, which is believed to be the first time he stepped back on the mound since undergoing surgery in December to address a herniated disc in his back. Scherzer said that his pitching arm feels good, and he estimated that he's in what would be the early February portion of his throwing program if he had been coming into a normal spring training rather than rehabbing from surgery. Rangers general manager Chris Young said Wednesday that there are no plans at this point to shift Scherzer to the 60-day injured list, per Buster Olney of ESPN, suggesting the veteran right-hander could be ready to rejoin the rotation before the end of May.
Pitching Stats
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Minor League Game Log
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Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-3%
BAA vs LHP
2024
No Stats
BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022vs Left | .210 | 160 | 51 | 109 | 23 | |||
Since 2022vs Right | .217 | 187 | 18 | 125 | 18 | |||
2024vs Left | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
2024vs Right | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
2023vs Left | .222 | 84 | 34 | 64 | 13 | |||
2023vs Right | .220 | 90 | 11 | 62 | 15 | |||
2022vs Left | .196 | 76 | 17 | 45 | 10 | |||
2022vs Right | .215 | 97 | 7 | 63 | 3 | |||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-33%
ERA at Home
2024
No Stats
ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022Home | 2.39 | 0.97 | 131.2 | 10.6 | 2.3 | ||||
Since 2022Away | 3.57 | 1.05 | 166.1 | 10.4 | 1.9 | ||||
2024Home | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
2024Away | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
2023Home | 3.09 | 1.06 | 67.0 | 10.6 | 3.1 | ||||
2023Away | 4.31 | 1.17 | 85.2 | 10.0 | 2.3 | ||||
2022Home | 1.67 | 0.88 | 64.2 | 10.6 | 1.5 | ||||
2022Away | 2.79 | 0.93 | 80.2 | 10.8 | 1.5 | ||||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Stat Review
How does Max Scherzer compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
3.87K/9
10.3BB/9
2.7HR/9
1.7Fastball
93.8 mphERA
3.77WHIP
1.12BABIP
.276GB/FB
0.77Left On Base
80.4%Exit Velocity
81.6 mphBarrels/BBE
5.1%Spin Rate
2262 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
21.2%Swinging Strike
13.7%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Sticking with Texas for 2024
Scherzer exercised his $43.33 million player option for 2024 after being traded from the Mets to the Rangers on Saturday, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.com.
ANALYSIS
The deal briefly reached an impasse since Scherzer initially wanted to retain his ability to opt out after 2023, but in the end he decided to exercise his player option in exchange for some additional amenities, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The Rangers will be covering just $22.5 million of the 39-year-old's remaining salary, with the Mets paying the additional $35-plus million.
The deal briefly reached an impasse since Scherzer initially wanted to retain his ability to opt out after 2023, but in the end he decided to exercise his player option in exchange for some additional amenities, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The Rangers will be covering just $22.5 million of the 39-year-old's remaining salary, with the Mets paying the additional $35-plus million.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
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A pair of oblique issues limited Scherzer to only 23 starts in his inaugural season with the Mets. The veteran right-hander spent almost seven weeks on the IL in the first half, then lost two more weeks in September. His strikeout rate dipped a tad to a still dominant 30.6 percent while his 4.2 percent walk rate was its lowest since 2015. Scherzer took advantage of pitching in cavernous Citi Field to drop his homers to .81 HR/9, the lowest since 2014. Scherzer's four-seam velocity continued a slightly downward trend, but it's not enough to be concerned about. Scherzer enjoyed another outstanding season, where his 2.46 ERA marked the eighth time in the last 10 years his ERA was sub-3.00. Even so, Scherzer will be remembered most for struggling in his last two starts, one to end the regular season and the other in the Wild Card round. This may drop his price to the point the durability risk is worth the reliability reward.
More Fantasy News
Plays catch Wednesday
Scherzer (back) was spotted playing catch Wednesday, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.
ANALYSIS
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Cleared for baseball activity
Scherzer (back) has been cleared for baseball activities, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Bochy hoping for June return
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said in an interview with MLB Network on Thursday that the team is now "looking at June" for the return of Scherzer (back).
ANALYSIS
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On track for workouts soon
Scherzer (back) said Saturday that he's about three weeks away from resuming workouts, Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Undergoes back surgery
Scherzer will be sidelined until June or July after undergoing surgery Thursday to repair a herniated disc in his back, Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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