It was a treat for fans in Buffalo to see a future Hall of Famer donning the Bisons’ team colours on a cloudy night in the Queen City. The future Hall of Famer was Max Scherzer, who got the start for Buffalo as part of his rehabilitation as he tries to work his way back to Major Leagues. Signed by the Toronto Blue Jays in the offseason, the 40-year-old Scherzer has thrown just three innings at the big-league level in 2025, succumbing to a thumb injury during his first start on March 29.
It's been a slow and long road back but there was plenty of excitement surrounding Scherzer’s start against the Columbus Clippers. Scherzer lasted 4.1 innings and threw 56 pitches with four strikeouts and two earned runs. After the game, Scherzer told Shi Davedi of Sportsnet, “I’ll definitely need another (rehab start), for sure. This thumb issue is a serious issue," he added. "I don't declare myself out of the woods on this because I've got to be able to do this at the big-league level and recover at the big-league level.”
With one game already in the books, lets dive deeper into what we can take away from his outing.
3 things we learned from Max Scherzer’s rehab outing
1. Velocity was fine
Early in the game, Scherzer’s fastball was sitting 92-94 while later, it was leaning more in the 91-92.5 range. He lost quite a bit speed toward the end of his outing with his final two fastballs coming in at 87.8 and 89.5. Last year his fastball averaged 92.5 mph, and in this outing it sat sitting at 91.5 mph, which is a good sign that he’s headed in the right direction, but a little worrisome that it dipped below 90 after less than 60 pitches. His numbers were also just slightly down across his entire makeup in comparison to last year.
2024 velocities
Fastball: 92.5 mph (44.3%)
Slider: 85.0 mph (22.3%)
Changeup: 82.8 mph (13.9%)
Curveball: 74.7 mph (13.9%)
Cutter: 86.6 mph (6.0%)
Friday night velocities
Fastball: 91.9 mph
Slider: 83.3 mph
Changeup: 83.4 mph
Curveball: 74.1 mph
Cutter: 85.7 mph
2. Scherzer had good movement on his pitches
Out of the 56 pitches he threw, he got 11 whiffs while striking out four hitters. Two of those strikeouts came against back-to-back hitters to end the second inning, and both pitches had some terrific sinking action.
He got Micha Pries to strikeout on a foul tip on a changeup. The very next hitter was Kyle Datres and he went after a slider that was dancing way out of the zone.
And to close out the 2nd, Max Scherzer gets another strikeout with his slider. #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/DhoWzLzCpz
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) June 13, 2025
That’s more encouraging signs from Scherzer early in his outing. Sure he’s fooling Triple-A level hitters with those pitches, but to see that type of movement and to have that kind of control while dealing with his thumb is another step in the right direction. He also threw 39 of his 56 pitches for strikes and didn’t allow a single walk.
3. 56 pitches isn’t enough
Encouraging signs are one thing, but bulking up the work load will be necessary before Scherzer can feel like he’s ready to pitch for the Blue Jays again. Not only did Scherzer say as much in his post-game comments, but Toronto skipper John Schneider made similar sentiments. He told reporters after the Blue Jays game, “I want to see how Max feels tomorrow, to be honest with you,” Schneider said. “I couldn’t care less about his line score. I want to see 60-65 pitches, I want to see that the fastball velo is good and that he’s coming out of it healthy, really. The main thing is to see how he feels tomorrow and just keep going in that direction.”
He'll likely get a chance to make that next start on Wednesday when the Bisons play in Worcester. It sounds funny to say, but that could be one of the biggest pre-deadline outings for the Blue Jays this season. If Scherzer looks good in that game, he could rejoin the Blue Jays in time for their series against the Yankees, when the Bronx Bombers visit Rogers Centre June 30-July 3. It could be a series that sways the balance of power at the top of the AL East standings and could really determine Toronto’s game plan heading into the trade deadline.