Who would you rather start a franchise with, Stephen Strasburg or Félix Hernández?
Author Ian Price will be defending Strasburg.
Author Joseph Aughtman will be defending Hernández.
Stephen Strasburg vs. Félix Hernández
Strasburg
Trust me, when it comes to Felix Hernández, I’m usually one of the first people to shower him with praise. In the long run, however, Stephen Strasburg will prove to be the more dominant and durable starting pitcher. Beginning his career in 2010 with the Harrisburg Senators of the Eastern League, Strasburg needed merely 11 games in the minors to acclimate himself to wooden bats and overblown media attention before being promoted to the majors. No other player in recent memory has had such a brief yet successful grace period before being entrusted with a starting position in the big show. Strasburg posted a 1.30 ERA, 0.795 WHIP, and recorded 65 Ks in 55.1 IP combined through AA and AAA. About a month prior to his debut, Curt Schilling stated that Strasburg will “immediately potentially be the best pitcher in the game”, and he wasn’t far off the mark. As a member of the Nationals, Strasburg has impressed with a sub-2.50 ERA and a remarkable 12.4 K/9. Moreover, one advantage Hernandez has had over Strasburg this year is a better supporting defense. Hernandez’s BABIP is .283 as opposed to Strasburg’s inflated .328 BABIP. This means that the Nationals have played poor defense behind Strasburg. Ian Desmond, Cristian Guzman, Adam Dunn, and Josh Willingham aren’t exactly rangy players who possess particularly strong arms or defensive intangibles. As the Nationals improve their defensive personnel in the future, Strasburg’s confidence will improve and it will show in his numbers. Strasburg’s fastball and curveball are too difficult to make solid contact off of consistently, lending credence to the notion that his BABIP will decrease as the season wears on and remain low throughout his career. Overall, I wouldn’t hesitate to have either of these pitchers on my team, but Strasburg has the tools to one day be considered one of the greatest of all-time.
Hernández
Hernández, 24, is in his sixth season and he has been nothing short of spectacular. However, what has hurt “King Félix” during his tenure in the big leagues is a lack of run support being on the weak hitting Mariners. His career record is 65-47 with a 3.35 ERA (as of July 23, 2010). If he was on a team like the Yankees, Cardinals or Red Sox, he would easily have 20-30 more wins. He has electric stuff and a Sports Illustrated poll of 339 players in baseball have him ranked fourth in the league amongst pitchers. Felix has a four-seam fastball that is clocked as fast as Strasburg, but Hernández has better movement with his four-seamer. His two-seam fastball is a little slower than the four, but there is a lot more movement and more of a natural sink than Strasburg’s. He gets batters off-balanced with a changeup and also throws a good curve and a slider for strikes that causes him to get plenty of strikeouts and ground balls. He keeps his infielders on their toes, because he rarely gets fly ball outs. He has the stuff to put away hitters via strikeout, but he understands it will bring up his pitch count so he tries to get a lot of groundball outs. That is something Strasburg will have to learn through the years if he can, because he is used to getting guys out via strikeout. Hernández also has to face the American League, which is a lot harder than facing lineups in the weaker hitting National League. Hernández is also a workhorse starter and is always one of the leaders in innings pitched in the every season. Strasburg is getting the “Joba Rules” treatment in Washington and it could hinder him in his progression. Hernández may become one of the best pitchers in this generation if he can get out of Seattle.
July 25th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
Great topic for debate….i think joe may have sold me more on hernandez tho….however i choose Phil Hughes. Thank you