2010 Rookie Spotlight: Stephen Strasburg

Stephen Strasburg

Washington Nationals #37
Position: Pitcher
Born: July 20, 1988 in San Diego, CA (age 21)
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6’ 4” Weight: 220 lbs

The number one pitching prospect (number two overall) by Baseball America has blown away the competition in the minor leagues.

Stephen Strasburg was a phenom in college at San Diego State. He shattered many records at the school and had some tremendous performances.

As a sophomore in 2008, Strasburg went 8-3 with a 1.57 ERA with 133 Ks in 97 1/3 innings pitched. This was where he started to get national recognition and talk began about him being the number one pick in the 2009 MLB Draft. He took the baseball world by storm on April 11, 2008, against the University of Utah. In that game, Strasburg set a San Diego State and Mountain West Conference record with 23 strikeouts.

That summer, Strasburg was the lone college player on the USA Olympic Baseball Team that won the Bronze Medal in the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing. In his first start against the Netherlands, Strasburg pitched seven innings of shutout baseball, allowing only one hit in the USA victory. In his second start against Cuba, Strasburg didn’t fare as well. He went four innings, giving up three runs, two earned and was given the loss in Team USA’s 10-2 defeat. Strasburg still shined, going 1-1 with a 1.67 ERA.

In his junior season in 2009, Strasburg had another dominant year by going 13-1 with a 1.32 ERA with 195 Ks in 109 innings pitched. He only gave up 59 hits, 16 earned runs and 19 walks. On May 9, 2009, against Air Force, Strasburg put a stamp on his college career, pitching a no-hitter and striking out 17 batters in his last home start for San Diego State.

Strasburg has a great assortment of pitches. He has a plus-fastball that averages between 96-98 MPH. He has a good changeup that’s about 15-20 MPH off his fastball and has excellent movement on his slider. His control is great already and will get better with experience. His breaking pitches take enough MPH off to fool hitters and he doesn’t have many flaws in his delivery. Being in the National League won’t be a problem for him considering he has to face the pitcher, but he also can hold his own at the plate.

There was no doubt he was going to be the number one overall pick in the draft, and the Washington Nationals selected him with that pick. After long negotiations with the Nationals and his agent Scott Boras, the two finally agreed on a four-year, $15.1 million contract on August 25, 2009. He was then sent to pitch for the Phoenix Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League. The Nationals invited Strasburg to spring training in 2010. He pitched strong, but the Nationals decided to send him down to the minors.

His first stint came with the Harrisburg Senators, the AA affiliate of the Nationals. Strasburg had a short time in Harrisburg, but he was dominant. In only five starts with the team, he went 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA. In 22 innings pitched, he had 17 Ks, gave up 13 hits, nine runs (four earned) and walking only six batters. His K/BB ratio was 4.50 and had a WHIP of .864.

After his great performance in AA, the Nationals sent him to AAA-Syracuse (Chiefs). Strasburg did his damage at the AAA-level. In the five starts, Strasburg went 4-1 and gave up only four earned runs in 33.1 innings. He only gave up 18 hits and seven walks to go with 38 Ks. In limited ABs at the AAA-level, he went 2-3 with 2 RBI and a run scored.

He made his last start June 3 against the Buffalo Bisons. In five shutout innings, Strasburg allowed just three hits and one walk with five strikeouts. He also went 1-2 with a single and a run scored.

His combined AA and AAA stats have been impressive. He went 7-2 with a 1.30 ERA in 55 1/3 innings. He gave up 31 hits, 13 walks and eight earned runs to go with 65 strikeouts.

Strasburg will be making his MLB debut June 8 against the Pittsburgh Pirates where the Nationals hope he can pay immediate dividends and keep them in the NL East and Wild Card race.