Max Scherzer is 6-0 with a 3.20 ERA. Those numbers, combined with his second-half statistics last season (he had a 2.47 ERA after the All-Star break in'10), indicate he is one of the best starting pitchers in the American League.
But the most telling aspect beginning this season for Scherzer is that he hasn't pitched nearly as well as he is capable.
His early starts, his velocity wasn't up. He was throwing his four-seam fastball in the 90 mph and 91 mph range. Obviously, as the weather has warmed a bit and he's gotten stretched out, Scherzer is throwing harder.
His command has also been off. He's thrown a lot of pitches, and hasn't worked that deep into games. He only went five innings, for example, in his victory at Toronto Monday, and is averaging 6 1-3 innings per start. He has thrown more than six innings in only one of his eight starts - an 8-inning effort vs. the White Sox.
While I see it as a sign of maturity that he has been able to fight his way through some of these starts without his best "stuff," Scherzer has also benefited from excellent run support.
But still. Six-and-oh? A three-point-two-zero ERA?
I'm completely puzzled why the Diamondbacks traded Scherzer. It could go down as one of baseball's all-time blunders, and finds for the Tigers.