What It Means:

After Scherzer threw 54 pitches over three innings in a minor league game, pitching coach Mike Maddux told reporters Thursday they're going to "take the training wheels off." He was able to use his normal grip without issue after experimenting with some alternative approaches. The Nationals have said they don't expect Scherzer to take the mound on Opening Day, but the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner has pledged that he won't miss a turn in the team's first rotation of the season.

numberFire's algorithms project Scherzer to record a 3.14 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 29.9 strikeout percentage across 218 innings in 2017 while turning in a 16-8 record.