A Closer Look at Strasburg

A spot on the US Olympic team has thrown some extra attention on 20-year old San Diego State hurler Stephen Strasburg, likely to be the top pick in next year’s draft. As Thomas Boswell wrote today in the Washington Post, Strasburg’s fastball has been clocked at 101 mph and it’s not even his best pitch (that would be his curveball).

Boswell excited because his hometown Nats are so terrible, they just might be getting the No. 1 draft pick that would let them snag the 220 lb, 6’4" Strasburg. But Buster Olney rains on his parade:

Strasburg’s advisor is Scott Boras, and if the Nationals thought the asking price of Aaron Crow was high, well, they ain’t seen nothing yet.

Nonetheless, DC scribes are following the scouts’ lead and positively drooling over the big righty. In addition to his high-90s heater and his 70s curve, Strasburg has a slider in the 80s and struck out 23 batters in one game in April.

Washington has a .354 winning percentage as of right now. The only other teams under .400 are San Diego (.375) and Seattle (.367).

Sarah Green writes for UmpBump and the Boston Metro. She can be reached here.