NEXT: ATHLETE

by Sean Bartlett

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THE NEXT ... JOBA CHAMBERLAIN?

"By the time the summer is out, we might look at Max Scherzer as the Joba Chamberlain of 2008—he's got that kind of talent, that kind of fastball, and that kind of presence. And he makes an already excellent D-Backs' team even stronger."

-- Buster Olney

They already had Brandon Webb and Dan Haren. This just isn't fair.

Meet Max Scherzer, a 23-year-old flame-thrower who made his MLB debut last night in Arizona's 6-4 loss to Houston and is already garnering comparisons to a young Kerry Wood or Roger Clemens. In his 4+ innings in relief of Edgar Gonzalez, Scherzer torched the Astros with a 98 m.p.h. heater and a filthy slider. He retired all 13 batters he faced, struck out 7 and did not surrender a single walk.

But the righthander is no stranger to this brand of dominance. Before being drafted by the Diamondbacks in 2006, he was a stud for the Missouri Tigers, earning Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honors in 2005, after a season in which he tallied 131 strikeouts and posted a 1.86 ERA over 106.1 innings. His minor league numbers are even more impressive, and have many fans forgetting about the Giants' Tim Lincecum.

IN HIS WORDS

"I don't try to make comparisons to anybody else. Everybody does something different, and I always look to take someone's strength and use it in my own game. But my biggest strength is knowing I just have to throw strike one and keep myself in pitcher's counts. As long as you can do that, you're gonna have success. I don't really set goals for myself, I just try to go out and focus on doing my best every time and everything seems to fall in place. I'm excited to compete everyday against major league hitters, but it doesn't matter to me if I'm starting or closing. Whatever skip tells me to do to help this team get wins, I'm down for it. I just love pitching."
—MAX SCHERZER

FACT OR FICTION

One of these statements about Max is false. But which one? (Answer at the bottom of the page)

• Majored in business at Mizzou
• Declined to sign with the Cardinals in '03
• Is Tony LaRussa's godson
• Set the record for most consecutive batters retired (13) in an MLB debut
• Has two different colored eyes

CLIP REEL

Max Scherzer of the Visalia Oaks (Single-A)
Max Scherzer Windup 3/10
Max Scherzer Stretch, 3/10
Max Scherzer Shuts out Oklahoma

Max is not Tony LaRussa's godson.

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