60-Day IL
Injury Thumb
Est. Return 6/25/2025
2025 Stats
W-L
0-0
ERA
6.00
WHIP
1.00
K
1
SV
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
2025 Fantasy Outlook
The future Hall of Famer is clearly in his twilight years, but Scherzer said in September that he wants to continue pitching in 2025. His return from back surgery was delayed several times and he ended up making just nine starts for the Rangers in between IL stints last season, posting a 3.95 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 40:10 K:BB over 43.1 innings. Shoulder fatigue cost him most of the second half and a left hamstring strain officially ended his campaign. While he made at least 23 starts in each of the three seasons prior to 2024, that means less at his advanced age of 40. Scherzer had the second-lowest strikeout rate of his career (22.6%) and remains unsigned as of mid-December. He can still be part of a winning fantasy club, but draft him for who he is now and not the name. Read Past Outlooks

Rejoining rotation Wednesday
Scherzer (thumb) confirmed that he'll be activated from the 60-day injured list to start Wednesday's game in Cleveland, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports. "My stuff is fine," Scherzer said Sunday. "I'm trying everything I can to manage this [thumb] and make sure I can recover...There's no knowing, just have to get out there."
ANALYSIS
Even though Scherzer is poised to make his first start since March 29, his right thumb seems like it may be an issue that he'll have to continue to manage. After striking out eight batters in 4.1 shutout innings in his second rehab outing with Triple-A Buffalo this past Wednesday, the 40-year-old was still dealing with some lingering soreness in his thumb afterward. Even so, Scherzer was able to temporarily quell concerns about his health by completing a bullpen session Sunday, prompting the Blue Jays to clear him to rejoin the rotation. He built up to 75 pitches during his last rehab start and shouldn't be under any major restrictions Wednesday, though the Blue Jays will presumably keep a careful watch on his workload and his effectiveness should he last deeper into the game.
Even though Scherzer is poised to make his first start since March 29, his right thumb seems like it may be an issue that he'll have to continue to manage. After striking out eight batters in 4.1 shutout innings in his second rehab outing with Triple-A Buffalo this past Wednesday, the 40-year-old was still dealing with some lingering soreness in his thumb afterward. Even so, Scherzer was able to temporarily quell concerns about his health by completing a bullpen session Sunday, prompting the Blue Jays to clear him to rejoin the rotation. He built up to 75 pitches during his last rehab start and shouldn't be under any major restrictions Wednesday, though the Blue Jays will presumably keep a careful watch on his workload and his effectiveness should he last deeper into the game.
Pitching Stats
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2024
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2021
2020
2019
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2017
Minor League Game Log

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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
45
Last 10 Games
45
Last 5 Games
45
How many pitches does Max Scherzer generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does Max Scherzer generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2023
-3%
BAA vs RHP
2025
-25%
BAA vs LHP
BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2023vs Left | .230 | 98 | 43 | 85 | 16 | |||
Since 2023vs Right | .223 | 117 | 12 | 84 | 21 | |||
2025vs Left | .250 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |||
2025vs Right | .333 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
2024vs Left | .260 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 2 | |||
2024vs Right | .228 | 26 | 1 | 21 | 5 | |||
2023vs Left | .222 | 84 | 34 | 64 | 13 | |||
2023vs Right | .220 | 90 | 11 | 62 | 15 | |||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2023
-22%
ERA at Home
2025
-100%
ERA on Road
ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2023Home | 3.32 | 1.04 | 89.1 | 9.8 | 2.7 | ||||
Since 2023Away | 4.27 | 1.19 | 109.2 | 9.7 | 2.3 | ||||
2025Home | 6.00 | 1.00 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | ||||
2025Away | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
2024Home | 3.72 | 0.98 | 19.1 | 7.9 | 1.9 | ||||
2024Away | 4.13 | 1.29 | 24.0 | 8.6 | 2.3 | ||||
2023Home | 3.09 | 1.06 | 67.0 | 10.6 | 3.1 | ||||
2023Away | 4.31 | 1.17 | 85.2 | 10.0 | 2.3 | ||||
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
0.00K/9
3.0BB/9
0.0HR/9
6.0Fastball
91.9 mphERA
6.00WHIP
1.00BABIP
.118GB/FB
0.29Left On Base
500.0%Exit Velocity
89.0 mphBarrels/BBE
13.3%Spin Rate
2294 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
40.0%Swinging Strike
6.7%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Max Scherzer See More

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Past Fantasy Outlooks
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2019
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2017
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2015
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2012
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2008
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.
More Fantasy News

Likely to return from IL next week
Scherzer is dealing with some expected soreness in his right thumb following his rehab start Wednesday with Triple-A Buffalo, but he is likely to return from the 60-day injured list during the Blue Jays' series next week in Cleveland, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
ANALYSIS
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Looks ready to return
Scherzer (thumb) built up to 75 pitches in a rehab start for Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday, allowing one hit and two walks over 4.1 scoreless innings while striking out eight.
ANALYSIS
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Set for second rehab outing
Scherzer (thumb) is aiming to throw 70-to-75 pitches in his rehab start with Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday, which could be the final outing in the minors before being reinstated from the injured list, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
ANALYSIS
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Fans four in first rehab outing
Scherzer (thumb) tossed 4.1 innings in a rehab start with Triple-A Buffalo on Friday, allowing two earned runs on four hits and no walks while striking out four batters.
ANALYSIS
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Cleared for rehab start
Scherzer (thumb) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo on Friday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors

Could return to big leagues soon
Scherzer, who is currently rehabbing from a thumb injury, could return to the Blue Jays rotation in the coming days, according to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com.
ANALYSIS
Scherzer tossed 74 pitches in a rehab start at the Triple-A level this week, and while the results of the scheduled bullpen session Saturday will determine the next steps, all signs point to Scherzer returning to the big leagues sooner rather than later. Scherzer also feels his stuff is where he needs to be, according to Matheson, and if everything goes well, Scherzer could return to Toronto's rotation Tuesday to face the Guardians.
Scherzer tossed 74 pitches in a rehab start at the Triple-A level this week, and while the results of the scheduled bullpen session Saturday will determine the next steps, all signs point to Scherzer returning to the big leagues sooner rather than later. Scherzer also feels his stuff is where he needs to be, according to Matheson, and if everything goes well, Scherzer could return to Toronto's rotation Tuesday to face the Guardians.