There have been some really good pitchers to play in the American League Central over the years. In fact, the best of them all might have played for the White Sox in the early portion of the past decade in Chris Sale. Well, one who makes an argument for the best is Max Scherzer. He was an elite pitcher with the Detroit Tigers for a while before making his way to play for the Washington Nationals. Somehow, Scherzer continues to get better as he continues to get older.
With Detroit, Max turned into one of the league’s best players. He played for the Tigers from 2010-2014. It was five years of brilliance. He had a remarkable record of 82-35 during his five seasons with the Tigers. He had a 3.52 ERA to go with 1081 strikeouts and a 1.197 WHIP. He really bloomed into a star during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. In 2013 he had a 21-3 record. Those 21 wins led all of baseball. In 2014 he went 18-5 and those 18 wins led the American League.
Scherzer also took home the Cy Young with Detroit in 2013. It was the best year he had with the Tigers and the White Sox were a victim of it many times. He moved onto the Nationals after the 2014 season which remarkably saw him get better. He won the Cy Young two more times with them and eventually the World Series in 2019. Scherzer is clearly one of the best players to come through this division in a long time.