Max Scherzer might be in the last years of his career, but what a career it has been. Without a doubt, he will be headed to the Hall of Fame, but now he’s gunning to make it to the top 10 strikeout leaders of all time, and he doesn’t have far to go. This week, Scherzer notched his 3,500th career strikeout, and he only needs seven more to take the tenth overall spot away from Walter Johnson. There is only one active MLB pitcher on the board ahead of Scherzer, and that is Justin Verlander, who currently
sits at 3,554 strikeouts. Verlander has been on the IL this year for the Tigers, but is poised to return to the majors soon, so he and Scherzer can continue to deck it out to see who can get the most Ks before they wrap up their respective Hall of Fame careers.
We’ve got that and more in today’s links roundup, so let’s just dive in and get to the news.
- Davy Andrews wonders if there’s a correlation between catchers who frame well and those who have success with ABS challenges.
- Tarik Skubal is set to return to the Tigers on Saturday after being gone fewer than 40 days. (ESPN)
- Max Scherzer has notched his 3500th career strikeout, shares Keegan Matheson.
- Jake Rill reports that Tommy Pham will opt out of his minor league contract with the Orioles, as he has not been called up to the majors in a month.
- Is it time for the Yankees to give up on Anthony Volpe? Karl Rasmussen weighs in.
- Tom Verducci thinks the Pirates might have one of the hardest-throwing groups of pitchers in all of baseball.
- Ken Rosenthal looks at Trey Mancini’s return to the majors with the Angels. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Gosh, I love a weird, random stat.
- Tom Dierberger has more insight into that wild Giants comeback.
- Jay Jaffe looks at how things are finally turning around for Dustin May.
- Rockies’ Brenton Doyle has an interesting and delicious side hustle. Story by Max Ralph.
- Is the AL Cy Young Cam Schlittler’s to lose? Tim Capurso looks at the other potential contenders.
- Aroldis Chapman will likely get traded ahead of the deadline, but if the Yankees want him back, he wants an apology. Story by Enrique Rojas.
- Tyler Kepner spotlights Rick Sweet, the manager of the Nashville Sounds. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Gotta love it when baseball is fun. (Here’s a direct link to the Bluesky post for those reading on Apple News.)
- Ben Clemens assesses how Taylor Ward has suddenly started taking so many walks.
- Jay Jaffe spotlights a series of challenges for Matt McLain.
- Jonathan Mayo offers up the latest mock draft as the real deal draws closer.
- The White Sox have traded Derek Hill to the Phillies. Story by Karl Rasmussen.
- Tim Capurso looks at Freddie Freeman’s 2500 hit milestone and how such feats are getting more and more rare.
- Despite a rough season for the Red Sox, Craig Breslow isn’t going anywhere. (ESPN)
- Yes, I would like season tickets with my rent, thank you.
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.
