The praise lauded upon Stephen Strasburg as he was finishing up his tenure with San Diego State University led many critics to consider him overrated and unproven. After becoming the top pick in the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft, Strasburg was sent down the minor leagues for development by the Washington Nationals and exceeded expectations.
Now into this, his third start in the MLB, Strasburg is playing as if he were actually underrated. In his first three starts for the Nationals, Strasburg has two victories and one no-decision. What’s more startling is the dominance he has shown during these three starts. In a total of 19 1/3 innings, Strasburg has given up only four earned runs and 10 hits. He has also set the record for the most strikeouts by a pitcher in his first three starts. Strasburg’s 32 strikeouts top J.R. Richard’s 1971 debut of 29 strikeouts.
While Strasburg is proud of his strikeouts, he considers the individual attribute to be secondary to his team’s victory. Strasburg told reporters: “My goal is to go out there and help the team win. It's about wins and losses at this level. You can go out there and strike everybody out. But at the end of the day, if you don't keep your team in striking distance, what does that all matter?"
Fortunately for Strasburg, his strikeouts have coincided with victories, and he seeks his third win in four starts. To continue his strong debut, Strasburg will have to overcome a very talented Kansas City Royals line up. The Royals currently lead the American League with a batting average of .280 and have the second fewest strikeouts in the league as well.
This might seem like a challenge, but his last game was against the team with the fewest strikeouts in AL, the Chicago White Sox. Though he couldn’t earn the win, Strasburg still struck out ten White Sox batters.
The Royals, who are currently struggling in the AL Central, seem interested by the challenge and a victory against such a touted pitcher could help raise their momentum.
When asked about how the Royals would face Strasburg, Royals left fielder Scott Podsednik theorized: "As a group we're going to try to come up with an offensive game plan to try to put some runs up against him. It'll be fun to go out and battle arguably one of the guys that they say has some of the best stuff in the league."
Unfortunately, the Royals’ hitting will be meaningless if they can’t get a good performance out of their pitcher Brian Bannister. The righty’s ERA has shot up to 5.70 after giving up 16 runs in 7 innings over his last two starts.
Strasburg is also playing against history. The previous holder of the debut strikeout record, J.R. Richard had to be pulled from his fourth start after giving up four straight hits without an out. Strasburg can also become the Nationals team leader in strikeouts if he is able to get eight Royals out on pitches.
The Nationals current leader Livan Hernandez has 40 strikeouts, but has played a whopping 11 games more than Strasburg. If Strasburg continues along the path he has paved in his first three starts, he will solidify his place as an elite pitcher and will deserve to be discussed as one of the finest pitchers in the MLB. The possibility for his success is further propagated by the lack of pressure on Strasburg. He has already proven himself far beyond any expectations, and thus should not be worried about proving himself.
With pitching, mental prowess is often just as important as arm strength, and with a clear head Strasburg seems destined for further triumph.
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