CBS Sports: Max Scherzer the D-backs’ best first-round pick in last 10 years
Jun 8, 2015, 2:58 PM | Updated: 2:58 pm
Since 2005, plenty of really good baseball players have been added by teams via the First-Year Player Draft.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have selected a few of them.
But who is the team’s best pick?
That’s what CBS Sports’ Matt Snyder tried to figure out, as he named the best first-round pick for every MLB team since 2005.
For the Diamondbacks, he chose Max Scherzer, whom the team selected out of Missouri with the 11th overall selection in 2006.
I already mentioned Pollock going 17th overall above. Justin Upton as the top pick in 2005 was very good and they’ve also grabbed Trevor Bauer, Archie Bradley and Chris Owings. The D-Backs actually have a decent track record of not messing up the first round, relatively speaking. Scherzer at 11 was a master class, though.
Indeed, Scherzer has gone on to become one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, though unfortunately for Arizona, he has done so for teams other than the one that drafted him.
The right-hander made his big league debut with the D-backs in 2008, appearing in 16 games with seven starts. He posted a 3.05 ERA then, leading to much excitement over his prospects for the 2009 campaign. Scherzer went 9-11 that season, with a 4.12 ERA. He struck out 174 batters in 170.1 innings, but there were questions of whether or not his unique delivery would ultimately lead to injury or a future in the bullpen.
Following the season, Arizona traded Scherzer to the Detroit Tigers as part of a three-team deal that netted the D-backs pitchers Ian Kennedy and Edwin Jackson.
It was with Detroit where Scherzer established himself, with his best season coming in 2013. He went 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA that season, striking out 240 in 214.1 innings en route to the AL Cy Young Award.
Scherzer, now 30, signed a big free agent contract with the Washington Nationals prior to this season. He’s been worth every penny, posting a 6-4 record with a 1.85 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 77.2 innings of work in his return to the National League.
