No. 1 overall pick from last year's draft Stephen Strasburg will make his major league debut tonight in front of a sold-out crowd tonight. People are more excited about this start than any game this season. That's a lot of pressure to deal with. Being able to control his emotions and adrenaline tonight will be a feat in itself.
When you look at the Strasburg's numbers in college and the minors, they are comparable. In college he was 22-7, had a 1.59 ERA with 13.9 Ks per 9 IP and a WHIP of 0.80. His minor league numbers are 7-2, 1.30, 10.6 and 0.80.
Strasburg's stops in Double and Triple A have been impressive. The curveball looks as good as the 97-100 mph fastball. Scouts say his changeup is also a plus pitch.
It will be tough for Strasburg to live up to the hype. The majors are a lot different than the minors (although the Pirates might not be more than a glorified Triple A team.) If healthy, it looks like he has the tools to be a great pitcher, but one thing I know is there will be bumps in the road. Strasburg will have to persevere through adversity, and fans will be expecting him to pitch a no-hitter every game.
"I know I still have a lot to learn," Strasburg said. "I haven't proven anything yet."
That type of attitude will help. There's going to be a lot of fanfare and publicity in his first few starts, but people will lose interest because it's the Nationals. And Strasburg will be left to grind it out and try to live up to the hype playing for one of the worst teams in the league.
I'm always skeptical getting on board with someone this young with this type of hype. For some it's too much too early. It takes someone special, from a mental perspective, to handle it. It will be interesting to see what happens with this kid who the Nationals have already decided to move from catcher to outfield.
Im curious to read your comments after the start. Im not going to swing from this guys sack too bad because its pretty full already. But the thing that came to mind when watching this whole soap opera unfold was Lebron James' debut. I remember thinking before the game started, "Man I hope Lebron does good. I would feel bad for him the amount of negative coverage he would get if he stinks" I thought the same thing last night for this dude. But he was damn good. With stuff like that, its pretty hard not to. He has another level, that people cant rise to. The only thing I was upset about was they took him out after the 7th. He could have had a 20 strike out game, which is as impressive as throwing a no hitter in my book, in his debut. I understand the pitch count thing, but would they have taken him out if he had a perfect game or a no-no going? Let the guy come out for the 8th, if he doesnt strike everyone out, take him out. But 20Ks, come on man.
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