Pitcher · 2026
Max Scherzer
- Age
- 42
- B/T
- R/R
- Height
- 6' 3"
- Weight
- 208 lb
- Number
- #31
- Born
- July 27, 1984 in St. Louis, MO, USA
- MLB debut
- April 29, 2008
- Drafted
- 2003, round 43
- College
- Missouri
- High school
- Parkway Central
- Salary, 2026
- $3M
- dbWAR
- -.3 3 season(s)
- IP
- 36.0
- ERA
- 7.25
- FIP
- 6.89
- K/9
- 6.8
- FIP−
- 165 100 = avg
Max Scherzer is a starting pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays. In 2026 he struck out 27 batters over 36.0 innings across 9 appearances, 9 of them starts, going 1-4. His ERA of 7.25 was 73.6% higher than the league average of 4.18 — the worst on his team, and 456th of 467 among MLB pitchers with 20+ innings. Stripping out defence, his 6.89 FIP suggests he pitched better than his ERA shows. He missed bats on 17.3% of swings (9.0% of every pitch he threw), walked 9.3% of the batters he faced and struck out 16.8%. His -0.7 dbWAR is built from that FIP rather than runs allowed, so it credits him for what he controls and not for the defence behind him.
League context
Percentile among qualified pitchers, 2026.
Platoon splits
How left- and right-handed hitters fare against him.
| Split | PA | AB | H | HR | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs LHB | 108 | 94 | 29 | 7 | 12 | 14 | .309 | .389 | .574 | .413 | 13.0% |
| vs RHB | 53 | 50 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 13 | .220 | .264 | .460 | .311 | 24.5% |
Pitch sequencing
What Max Scherzer throws in each count, and what he follows each pitch with. Select any cell for the breakdown.
Select a count to see exactly what Max Scherzer throws in it.
Pitch arsenal
What he throws, how hard, and how often it misses in 2026.
| Four-Seam Fastball | 309 | 93.3 | 2,342 | 53.7% | 14.1% | |
| Slider | 158 | 86.3 | 2,425 | 43.7% | 21.8% | |
| Changeup | 105 | 84.4 | 1,354 | 37.1% | 16.4% | |
| Curveball | 90 | 75.7 | 2,703 | 43.3% | 24.3% |
Pitching
Standard and advanced, by season.
| Trend | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 9 | 9 | 36.0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 29 | 27 | 15 | 7.25 | 6.89 | 1.53 | 6.8 | 3.8 | 174 | 165 | -0.7 | |
| 2025 | 17 | 17 | 85.0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 87 | 49 | 82 | 23 | 5.19 | 4.99 | 1.29 | 8.7 | 2.4 | 125 | 120 | 0.1 | |
| 2024 | 9 | 9 | 43.1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 19 | 40 | 10 | 3.95 | 4.18 | 1.15 | 8.3 | 2.1 | 97 | 103 | 0.4 |
Head to head
Put Max Scherzer beside up to three others.
Similar players
Nearest 2026 seasons by command, run prevention and role, on rate statistics rather than totals.
wOBA uses linear weights measured from this season's own play-by-play rather than published constants, and wRC+ is park-adjusted against that same league. dbWAR is our own open implementation — not fWAR or bWAR — and the full derivation, including its simplifications, is on the methodology page.