Jacob deGrom is not the Best Starter in Baseball, so who is?
By Ben Fadden
1. Max Scherzer (Washington Nationals)
I just went on about Jacob deGrom about his great ERA and his great season, but Scherzer is another animal. He has had an ERA of under 3 for four straight years, and five out of the last six seasons.
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He has made it to six All Star Games in a row, with three Cy Young Awards in that span, and finishing right behind deGrom for the 2018 award. If you want a model of consistency, I don’t know another pitcher in the game better. In fact, last night he was named the #5 player in all of baseball in front of Jacob deGrom by MLB Network in the Top 100 Players Right Now.
In 2018, Scherzer led the National League in innings (220.2), strikeouts (300), and strikeouts per nine (12.2). He had a 2.53 ERA in 33 starts, and averaging only 6.1 hits per nine innings.
He became just the fourth pitcher in MLB history with five 250 strikeout seasons (Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens).
I enjoy watching Max Scherzer throw a baseball because of his desire to compete to the fullest regardless of if he is pitching against the Reds on Opening Day or in Miami in front of 10,000 people in August.
On Thursday, according to Jamal Collier, Max Scherzer threw his first bullpen of 2019 in a voluntary workout session. Scherzer was on the mound in February “grunting”, calling out a multitude of counts, and “getting angry at himself” when he did not execute a particular pitch.
That is not normal. You don’t see somebody that dedicated, throwing his first bullpen but acting like he was in the postseason. His greatness every season starts in Florida on a Spring Training mound, when nobody else is taking a bullpen that serious. That’s why he is the best pitcher in the game.
The Starting Pitchers are the last position of the series, so let me know what you think, and thank you for being with me as we took a look at the best players right now at every position.
Phillies everyday lineup revisited. dark. Next
To look back at all of the positions, here are the articles: