Inside the Majors

Amid oil spills, natural disasters and turmoil abroad, we are quickly approaching a day in our nation’s capital when the eyes and attention of both left and right leaning voters will lie on the right arm of a 21-year-old kid.  Stephen Strasburg is no prophet with answers to the world’s most pressing issues, but is viewed by many scouts and GM’s as a baseball messiah of sorts, sent from his heavenly hometown of sunny San Diego to resurrect a Washington Nationals team that has been mostly lifeless since their days of exile in Montreal.  Strasburg has flown through the Nationals minor league system with a speed that usually eludes D.C.’s decision makers, making only brief pit stops in Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse before getting the called to the show.  To the surprise of few and excitement of many in Washington, Strasburg was barely touched by lower league hitters, finishing his minor league career with an impressive 7-2 record , 1.30 ERA and miniscule .80 WHIP.  He added 65 strikeouts to his stat sheet in only 55 and 1/3 innings of work.

While Strasburg was seemingly anointed as the best player in the draft class, prior to last year’s MLB Entry Draft, he will still face an uphill battle to take home the league’s Rookie of the Year award.  Working with a 2 and a half month advantage, incumbent candidate Mike Leake, right hander for the Cincinnati Reds is off to a stellar start in the majors with a 5-0 record and 2.22 ERA.  Even were Strasburg to come out and live up the enormous billing he has had thus far, such numbers are simply hard to come by for a first year player.  Leake, though less heralded as a cant miss prospect in preseason hype, was taken just 7 spots behind Strasburg in last year’s draft at 8^th overall, so his early season success should come as no surprise.

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