Scott Boras is at it again, this time with a whole new pitching prospect.

11th Overall Pick, Max Scherzer has signed with the Fort Worth Cats, an independant league club, for the season leading up to the draft.

This was the same club, and the same manuever that last year's Number One Overall Pick, Luke Hochevar, did after he did not come to terms with the Dodgers.

Scherzer will use his time in Fort Worth to showcase his talent before the June draft and is now almost a lock to re-enter the draft, as it doesn't look like the Diamondbacks will sign him.

“I’ve had talks with Luke Hochevar about the Cats and he said he loved it,” Scherzer has said of the move. “The other representatives of Boras said it was a great fit and a great situation for my situation. We just talked about how that went, and he loved it and only had good things to say about the Cats and how the organization was run. He kind of sold me on it – I figured if he had such a good time, might as well sign up.”

The Cats open the season May 10, with the draft June 7-8. Scherzer will make around $1,000 a month, while making five starts in May, with his regular-season debut tentatively scheduled for May 12.

Scherzer went 7-3 with a 2.25 earned-run average last year for the University of Missouri. He had his best season with the Tigers as a sophomore, as the 6-foot-2 right-hander went 9-4 with a conference-best 1.86 ERA and set a school record with 131 strikeouts. Scherzer was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and a Baseball America second-team All-American.

Scherzer also said, “I don’t have to worry about the draft, I don’t have to worry about the signing bonus, because I have to go out there and all I have to do is my best. All I have to do is pitch, just block everything out and do my best and the rest will take care of itself.

I won't be able to catch Scherzer pitch, as the Cats won't be in El Paso until after he's gone.  But again, this situation bears watching, as it has the chance to impact the draft.

This year's right hander class is rather weak in impact pitching, with only Andrew Brackman being the best bet for a front of the line starter.

Scherzer has good quality stuff and has less questions about his ability than Brackman, who is a former basketball player that has only committed to baseball full time this year. 

However, there is questions as to whether or not this is the best move for Scherzer.  Unlike Hochevar, who fell because of signability reasons, but was otherwise a first round talent, Scherzer was picked high.  The main reason for all of the fuss, as well as why he hasn't signed yet, is probably because Mike Rizzo left for the Nationals. 

Rizzo still likes Scherzer's talent.  It will be interesting to see what happens if Scherzer is around when the Nationals pick.

I'll keep you all posted.