Halladay shuts down Braves, Strasburg needs more time
One is at the top of his game and the best pitcher in baseball and the other is only a pitching prospect, albeit one of the best prospects of all time.
They’re not even part of the same organisations but it’s clear that Roy Halladay and Stephen Strasburg dominate the pitching headlines in the present and will do in the future.
Normally making the headlines for his stellar play, Halladay was in the news for a different reason in the winter. His trade from the Toronto Blue Jays to the Philadelphia Phillies was the main talking point in the off-season and so far the pressure of playing in a big market has yet to get to Halladay. And why would it?
For 11 years he faced the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox in the American League East and didn’t exactly crumble under the pressure there. Lifetime, he is 14-14 with a 4.28 ERA against the Red Sox and against the Yankees he’s an impressive 18-6 with a 2.84 ERA.
For those 11 years he carried the weight of a franchise on his shoulders and the move to a World Series contender has allowed him to relax and just concentrate on his pitching. And on Wednesday night he showed why he is considered to be the best pitcher in baseball and why the Phillies gave him a $60million contract extension.
The 2003 Cy Young award winner threw a five hit complete game shutout against the Atlanta Braves to win his fourth game of the year and lower his ERA to 0.82. While Halladay is used to being the ace on a pitching staff, youngster Strasburg is learning to become one in the Washington Nationals farm system.
Last year’s overall No.1 pick made his third minor league start of the year, allowing just one hit in five scoreless innings while striking out six, to take him to 2-0 for the season with a 0.73 ERA.
Nationals’ general manager Mike Rizzo, not surprisingly, is keen to protect his prize asset who he gave $15million to over the next four years.
"We're going to take it start-by-start and see where it leads us. I've got a tentative plan in my mind that I'm not going to share with you guys.
"But we see that he certainly needs more work down in the minor leagues. We're going to see him in the big leagues, and when we see him in the big leagues, we hope he's here for good,” Rizzo said before Washington hosted the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night.
Rizzo is right to protect Strasburg, some players just aren’t ready for the pressure of the professional game, but it’s clear for everyone to see that Strasburg is already carrying the weight of the franchise on his shoulders, and if he turns out anything like Roy Halladay the Nationals will have a star for the foreseeable future.
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