Rocking out,
Today this man, Stephen Strasburg, was drafted number one overall to the Washington Nationals (not Natinals). His agent, Scott Boris (check out how many clients he has: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/10/scott-boras-cli.html), has been said to be looking for a guaranteed contract somewhere in the area of $50 Million. Now this is clearly an estimate, definitely an overestimation, which seems completely absurd considering Mark Prior only got $10.5 Million when he signed with the Cubs in 2001. Wow that was almost a decade ago. This contract remains the highest paid first year player in MLB history.
In addition, Strasburg is thought to be the first in many years to move directly from the draft into the majors. Boris is saying that his client has better stuff than most in the majors and could be in a five man rotation on any MLB team. Now this is pretty cool, if he has the capability to do this it would be quite an interesting experiment. Major ESPN journalists like Buster Olney & Tim Kirkjian have tread softly over Strasburg's future, but taboo didn't stop Woody Paige from proclaiming him a future hall of famer during today's "Around the Horn".
Aside from the facts, it just seems too far fetched to believe that this kid is going to come out of nowhere and steal the MLB spotlight. Now, he is unanimously considered by scouts to be the greatest college pitching recruit ever, which undeniably makes heads turn, but still how is it possible? Going into school at San Diego State he was known to be a chubby kid throwing his fastball for strikes at 96 mph; in a few short years he has turned himself into a physical specimen clocking his current fastball at 103 mph, that's fucking nuts. Still it is so hard to make these judgement calls and as always injuries can be a concern since a pitcher is so fragile.
Bottom line, this kid is gonna be fun to watch if he makes the most of his first few years in the league. As Greg Maddux has been quoted many times as saying that it isn't necessarily about the pitcher's skills, it is more about how they approach hitters and adjust as they get older. In the majors hitters are good enough to figure out if pitchers aren't making the proper adjustments and eventually a pitcher will get rocked as his secret is unveiled.
I'm pulling for this kid to be successful, and if the "Natinals" want to show the MLB they're worthy of still being a major league franchise, then they'd better make the right decisions with Strasburg. As of today Washington is far from rocking, with the addition of Strasburg next year they at least have a better chance of getting er done.
Big Zorny, how good is this kid?
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