Max Scherzer lasted 1/3rd of an inning today getting shelled for his second straight Spring Training start. I'm sure plenty of Tigers fans are shaking their heads already....(yes Virginia, I do believe sports fans are a bit wimpy on the whole!)....Scherzer was acquired from D-backs to replace Edwin Jackson. Certainly Jackson's 60% of a dominant season will be hard to replace.
But Scherzer comes with a solid reputation. The guy is a stud in the making. He struck out 174 batters in 170 IP last year while walking 63. His heater is one of baseball's best. Will his game translate to the tougher American League is the question. The man is a big talent....I would implore Tigers fans to not meltdown over two rough outings in early Spring Training....you know, especially since they don't count. Let's allow the young man to get himself in shape and work his way into form. He'll prove himself over time wearing The Olde English D is the bet from this writer's view.
MLB umpire Tim McClelland did wonder, in response to a question I posed for him on his radio show here in Des Moines, if Scherzer's pitches have enough of a wrinkle to work in the AL. A valid question and only one that will proven over time....we shall see.
The big thing is that Scherzer is still young, under club control for 4+ more seasons at reasonable rates, and is oozing big talent. Edwin Jackson was going to get more expensive to hold from this point and is fast approaching Free Agency. With Scott Boras as his agent we all know where this was heading. Either a massive extension for Jackson which he may, or may not, have deserved, a pre-Free Agency Trade by the Tigers (which may, or may not, have yielded someone better than Max Scherzer), or losing Jackson to free agency with the two comp picks in return. Getting a young guy like Scherzer, plus the others in the trade, made sense to me. Now we just have to watch him develop and see if the Tigers have a rotation cog they can plug in each year for the first half of this decade.
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