Nationals' Max Scherzer: Lined up to be No. 3 starter

Scherzer (finger) is lined up to start the Nationals' third game of the season on Apr. 6 against the Marlins, MASN's Mark Zuckerman reports.

Analysis:

He is taking the mound for his first Grapefruit League start Wednesday, and has been cleared for everything, including hitting. Scherzer will then make two more spring starts and if everything goes as planned, he will have built up his workload to the point that he could start the third game of the season. This is obviously the most optimistic projection, but there appears to be a very real chance that he does not miss a turn in the rotation.