Stephen Strasburg

[MorgantonAPPAlum]

Great stuff in his MLB debut: 14 Ks with two earned runs over seven innings tonight. ESPN said he had 30 some pitches over 97 mph-so far he's living up to the hype.

[Rob Iola]

Good Lord almighty - this kid's ferreal!!! Nothing he throws is straight - and he's firing in the high 90s! Like a knuckleballer, only he'll take your head clean off if you try stepping into 1 of his pitches - and then he breaks off an 80 mph curve and just leaves you screwed into the batter's box...


Of course, this was the Pirates tonight...

[seantaylor]

He will be the best pitcher in baseball by next season. The kid is unreal.

[UMass922]

I dare say I'll be shocked if he doesn't break the single-game strikeout record someday.

[PhoenixSupreme]

My big concern is that with his fast velocity, he may blow out his arm earlier than expected.

[NHwildEcat]

I think he is a huge arm injury away from being the biggest bust in baseball history. His stuff is freakish, and usually a person pays the price for that.

[PhoenixSupreme]

I think he is a huge arm injury away from being the biggest bust in baseball history. His stuff is freakish, and usually a person pays the price for that.

He'll never be the biggest bust...that will always belong to Brien Taylor in my opinion

[SideLine Shooter]

He'll never be the biggest bust...that will always belong to Brien Taylor in my opinion


Hate to say it PS but I will agree with you on Taylor. I saw him pitch in the minors while trying to make a comeback and it was really pitiful.

[AppAlum96]

I drafted him #5 overall in my fantasy baseball dynasty league. I watched last night with goosebumps.

[ngineer]

Only an arm blowout will stop this guy. Amazing. Not only getting 14 Ks, but doing it on only 97 pitches! The Eastern Division just got more interesting...xnodx

[I Bleed Purple]

I'm just hoping Heyward goes .400 against him during his career. 100 PAs maybe? 100 MPH means nothing to a guy who can turn on it.

[tribe_pride]

That's the thing about Strasburg and why people are high on him. He has the 98+MPH fast ball, threw a 97 MPH sinker, a good change up (which he blew once last game for the HR) and a nasty curve.

Not saying all pitches will always be on but he is not a 1 or 2 pitch guy. Seems humble too so he is a good guy to root for.

[AppAlum96]

He also has what's been called "astonishing movement" on his 100 mph fastball. If this guy stays healthy, he could be Nolan Ryan minus walks.

[seantaylor]

I'm just hoping Heyward goes .400 against him during his career. 100 PAs maybe? 100 MPH means nothing to a guy who can turn on it.


Mr. Strikeout Heywerd who is hitting .260. Huge mismatch. Strasburg will cut him up.

[MorgantonAPPAlum]

My big concern is that with his fast velocity, he may blow out his arm earlier than expected.

Maybe, but baseball tonight says that Nationals management is going to limit him to about 160 innings this year and that includes the 60 some odd that he has already thrown in his debut and in the minors. They know what a gem they have and are taking steps to protect him.

[MorgantonAPPAlum]

Not bad again today: 8 Ks and one earned run in 5 1/3. Walked five this time though.

[Rob Iola]

Not bad again today: 8 Ks and one earned run in 5 1/3. Walked five this time though.
Watchin' the game as I type this - he wasn't nearly as sharp as in his 1st outing - hot muggy day game (in Cleveland) vs. beautiful night game for his debut. No movement on his fastball and consistently wild high and outside. Had major, major issues with the landing spot on the mound - looked like a legit issue, as his landing foot kept sliding and tripping him up. Ground crew out several times, but they never really fixed it...

[tribe_pride]

Didn't watch but wonder if scouting report for Cleveland was to lay off a lot of pitches. Pitt swung at some bad balls because they were scary. This also makes him make more pitches and will get him out of the game sooner with his pitch count in the 90s. Still - 8ks, 2hits, 5BBs, and only 1 run is a good thing. 3 earned runs in 12 1/3 gives a solid 2.19 over 2 starts and should make him the important 2-0 to start the year.

[phoenixphanatic21]

I'm still waiting for him to face an legit lineup. His stuff has looked sick, but it's not like the Pirates or Indians have scary lineups. Or even average lineups for that matter.

[Rob Iola]

I'm still waiting for him to face an legit lineup. His stuff has looked sick, but it's not like the Pirates or Indians have scary lineups. Or even average lineups for that matter.
I believe his next start is against the White Sox this coming Friday...

[tribe_pride]

And the ChiSox are 6th worst Batting Average team. Also, think I have heard that it's Saturday since they are pitching him every 5th game. Then Baltimore on June 25 and finally Braves on June 30 (the first good team)

[NHwildEcat]

No doubt he has been very impressive thus far, but I want to see how he responds to teams when he faces them a second and third time. They will figure him out, especially the best lineups so his adjustments intrigue me.

[Rob Iola]

And the ChiSox are 6th worst Batting Average team. Also, think I have heard that it's Saturday since they are pitching him every 5th game. Then Baltimore on June 25 and finally Braves on June 30 (the first good team)
Every 5th day, not game... xnodx

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2010/06/03/DI2010060303075.html


Columbia, Md.: Boz, Could you give us a rough idea on what Strasburg's schedule might be ... I have tickets for the June 26th game at Camden Yards.. Do I have a chance?
Tom Boswell: Every fifth day -- not every fifth game -- from here until eternity. Or free agency. Whichever comes first.
Riggleman already has SS on the chart every fifth day. You work around that.
...
He will (probably) pitch against the Indians on the 13th, the White Sox at home the 18th and the Royals at home the 23rd. The O's will miss him. Of course, NO ONE KNOWS. Buyer beware. It's a sport with rain and X factors. But that's how it lines up now.

[tribe_pride]

Thanks. I read a couple different articles that said 5th game but none of them were definite and I trust Boswell. Figured the articles might have been true because he is only going to pitch 100 MLB innigs this year and pitching every 5 days should get him to pitch only 17 starts (assuming 6 innings per game average) which would make him be done the first week in September.

[PaladinFan]

I think the kid is going to be fantastic, though I'm not sure he deserves quite the fanfare he's received. Sure, the first game he throws with an electric crowd is fun to watch. I loved watching the atmosphere when Jason Heyward stepped to the dish his first game. But at some point you realize you can't do a special report every time this guy ties his shoes.

[SonuvaHenx2]

But at some point you realize you can't do a special report every time this guy ties his shoes.

Why not?
They already do it for Brett Favre, Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant...

[Rob Iola]

I think the kid is going to be fantastic, though I'm not sure he deserves quite the fanfare he's received. Sure, the first game he throws with an electric crowd is fun to watch. I loved watching the atmosphere when Jason Heyward stepped to the dish his first game. But at some point you realize you can't do a special report every time this guy ties his shoes.
I hear you and you have a good point. But have you actually watched him pitch? If, and I realize this is a big if, if he can keep his arm healthy and operating at even 80% of where he was on his debut he's going to be head-n-shoulders better than virtually everyone else out there...