Stephen Strasburg made his first official start for the Washington Nationals yesterday versus the Detroit Tigers yesterday at Space Coast Stadium to a larger-than-normal spring training crowd. In the space of months, Strasburg has overtaken Ryan Zimmerman as the face of the Nationals franchise. And his debut went some way in legitimizing that status.
Strasburg threw two innings of shutout baseball, striking out two and impressing many on his own team and on his opposition. Tigers manager Jim Leyland said yesterday that Strasburg was "Not long for the minors." And Leyland ought to know a thing or two about rookie pitchers, considering the impact that Rick Porcello had in his rookie season for the Tigers. Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera said "Great arm, great action, great mechanics. His fastball was jumping (...) He's going to be good." Livan Hernandez, the Nationals Spring Training invitee and the ageless wonder of MLB, said of Strasburg's 3-2 curve ball to get a strike out "That was big league."
The person who was least excited by the performance was Strasburg.
"It's all in the books now. It was really cool . . . a blast, absolutely . . . I thought I did pretty well. My command was not too good. My adrenaline was so high, I had to remember to breathe. It was the same in my first outing in high school and college. I'm a real rhythm pitcher. I hope I can be nice and smooth next time out."Most baseball insiders predict that Strasburg will make his Major League debut in early June. Strasburg still has to learn how to be a professional, how to pitch every fifth day, and get used to the increased amount of traveling that comes with being a professional baseball player. I fully expect him to take that leap to the next level with relative ease. While this first start is in now way shape or form a guarantee that Starsburg is going to be everything Nationals fans dream of, it is unquestionably a great start for a kid with so much pressure on his 21 year-old shoulders.
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