Who Should You Draft Third Overall in Fantasy Baseball?
Max Scherzer, SP, Washington Nationals
NFBC ADP: 4th
Maximum Pick: 1st (Yes, someone took him over Mike Trout)
Minimum Pick: 9th
To take a pitcher third overall, you have to be willing to pass on an elite bat, trusting your ability to find offense later in the draft, and you have to love the pitcher.
Let's make the argument for why Scherzer is worthy of going third overall.
Last season, only 13 pitchers cracked 200 innings pitched, a barrier Scherzer shattered with 220 2/3 innings. The 200-inning mark is one he's smashed six straight seasons. And it's not like those have been average innings he's been throwing, either. Check out Scherzer's insane consistency over the last three years.
| Season | IPs | Rank | K% | Rank | K-BB% | Rank | ERA | Rank | xFIP | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 228.3 | 2nd | 31.5% | 2nd | 25.3% | 2nd | 2.96 | 8th | 3.37 | 4th |
| 2017 | 200.7 | 14th | 34.4% | 2nd | 27.3% | 3rd | 2.51 | 3rd | 3.28 | 9th |
| 2018 | 220.7 | 1st | 34.6% | 2nd | 28.8% | 2nd | 2.53 | 6th | 3.06 | 6th |
In the last three seasons, Scherzer ranked outside of the top-eight in these five categories exactly one time (innings in 2017), and he still posted over 200 innings in that year. In a sport in which starting pitchers are throwing less and less, Mad Max continues to churn out innings -- high-quality ones, at that. He's a fantasy unicorn.
Scherzer is entering his age-35 season and has already crossed the 2,000-inning threshold for his career. So not only may you be fearful of taking a pitcher so early, you may be really scared to take an old hurler so high.
Well, you can put those fears to rest. This man is a machine, and you can anchor your pitching staff with a stud and add bats later on. Early drafters have made him the clear SP1 as he's going five spots in front of Jacob deGrom, the next-highest pitcher. If you're cool with passing on an elite hitter, Scherzer is the top pitching option out there.
