Washington Nationals: Max Scherzer the early frontrunner for NL MVP

Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer has gotten off to an unbelievable start in 2018. Pitchers rarely win the MVP Award, but he could do just that.

The Washington Nationals have always been built on strong pitching, but that has never been truer than it is right now. Several star position players are injured, leaving the offense well below full strength.

However, the pitching staff has picked up the slack. The Nats’ starting rotation leads the National League in ERA. The entire rotation has impressed, but nobody has been more dominant than Max Scherzer.

The Nats’ ace leads the NL in wins (9), innings pitched (79.2), strikeouts (120), batting average against (.171), WHIP (0.85), and WAR (3.2). His 1.92 ERA also ranks second, behind Jacob deGrom.

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Perhaps the most incredible number from Scherzer’s season is his age. It is hard to believe, but he will be turning 34 in July. Pitchers typically begin to decline once they reach their thirties, especially when they have thrown as many innings as Scherzer has, but he has gotten better with age.

The winner of the last two NL Cy Young Awards is having his best year yet… as a 33-year-old.

Scherzer has been named the NL Pitcher of the Month in each of the season’s first two months, so he has already taken home some hardware this year, but he is on pace to achieve much more. If the season ended today, he would be the frontrunner for NL MVP.

Pitchers rarely win the MVP Award; Justin Verlander (2011) and Clayton Kershaw (2014) are the only pitchers to accomplish the feat in this century. However, Scherzer is on pace to join them and strengthen his case as the best pitcher in baseball.

Verlander and Kershaw were named MVP because they had a couple of the greatest individual seasons of all-time. They would not have won the award otherwise. However, Scherzer has outperformed both of them.

Through May of their MVP seasons, Verlander had a 3.12 ERA, and Kershaw had a 3.57 ERA. Scherzer’s 1.92 ERA is well below both of those.

Scherzer has also blown Verlander and Kershaw out of the water in terms of strikeouts. Verlander had 76 strikeouts in the season’s first two months, while Kershaw had 36. In other words, Verlander and Kershaw combined to strike out eight fewer batters than Scherzer has through May.

In order for a pitcher to win an MVP Award, they have to go above and beyond to provide value in any way possible. Scherzer has done that.

Offensively, Scherzer is 9-for-29 (.310) with four RBI, three runs scored, and a stolen base.

Somehow, one of the highlights of Scherzer’s season recently occurred on a day he did not throw a single pitch. The Nats and Atlanta Braves played into the 14th inning, and only Pedro Severino, the backup catcher, remained on the Nats’ bench.

Not wanting to use the backup catcher, Dave Martinez called upon Scherzer to pinch-hit. Instead of conceding the at-bat, as most pitchers would have, Scherzer singled up the middle. Then, with two outs, he scored the go-ahead run from first base.

The Nats had scored just three runs in 13 innings, all on two swings, but Scherzer managed to get the offense going and lead the team to victory.

Scherzer pitched eight shutout innings the day before the Nats visited Atlanta, leading the Braves to believe that they did not have to worry about him. However, they thought wrong. Scherzer has the potential to impact any Nats game, whether he is pitching or not.

Next: Can Madison Bumgarner save the Giants?

As Martinez simply put it, “Max is a baseball player.” He is so much more than just a pitcher. He is a five-time All-Star, a three-time Cy Young Award Winner, and if he keeps this up, he will be the NL MVP.

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