San Diego State Pitcher with Triple Digit Fastball

interesting article....

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=sh-strasburg032409&prov=yhoo&type=lgns


sounds like the kid at one point had a million dollar arm and a five cent head. but maybe college is straightening the head part out.

if he can stay healthy and no injuries, he has the potential to throw faster?

 

Yeah I've been following this guy for a while because I'm a Washington Nationals fan (yes the only one) and we have the first pick in the draft. And of course he is the obvious pick, but Scott Boras is his adviser and supposedly he is going to ask for a 6 year 50 million dollar contract. That does not sound like a lot compared to what free agents receive sometimes, but the highest ever paid out to a rookie pitcher was 10.5 million paid to Mark Prior. David Price of Tampa was the first pick in 2007 and he received 8.8 million.

All in all, he will provide the Nats' front office with some headaches but they will draft him because hopefully he will be the next Nolan Ryan instead of the highest paid bust...

 

I thought Jordy was talking about Sidd Finch this morning.

 

I too have been following this guy for a while. There is no doubt he is dominant. Several articles written on him in recent months have called him maybe the best college player ever--certainly the best pitching prospect since Mark Prior.

Boras is just posturing. No way is he going to get $50 million (or anywhere close to it) because it would set such a crazy high precedent for all incoming #1 picks. He will likely break the record for the highest rookie deal though.

As good as he is, there are a few red flags. 4 years ago he was a chubby high school kid with a high 80s/low 90s fastball and bad makeup. All of a sudden he has turned into a muscular beast that is firing 102 mph peas. If that doesn't stimulate your steroid radar then nothing will. Second he has the dreaded "inverted W" pitching form. There is a school of thought that pitchers with mechanics that force there elbows into forming an inverted "W" shape above their shoulders are somehow destined for arm injuries. Mark Prior is the posterchild for this.

Hopefully he stays healthy and fulfills his substantial promise (I have him in a long term dynasty fantasy baseball league!).

 

No way the Nationals pass on him if he's healthy. After not signing Crow last year, the new GM will be under intense pressure to get Strasburg signed.

 

Absolutely no way we pass on him.... But like you said there are the red flags. Also, Boras is trying to break out of this current slotting system for the draft, as he's been trying to do for years, and thus ask for the big bucks. If Strasburg is the next Nolan Ryan, then it makes sense for Boras to do this.

There are rumors that Boras will have him play in Japan for a year if he does not get the money. The Nats pretty much have to sign him because of the Crow situation last year, and that the fan(s) are sick and tired of losing. The honeymoon is over with the new ballpark and we have no pitching. His stats are just amazing and the Nats will draft him, the question is if we can sign him....

 

Too bad he's not playing for a better team. I wonder if Tony Gwynn can hit him. Sounds like a good matchup.

 

as soon as i read the name boras i heard "cha-ching". its gonna be interesting to see what he gets this kid.

i had not heard of this kid until i read the article. it sounds like he was a momma's boy with no work ethic as far as getting himself in shape. (i had a mental image of momma hand feeding him fried chicken.) it sounds like a lot of his maturing with his fastball was maturing as a person.

 

So I guess his "changeup" is , what, 92MPH ? Thats sick!