After seeing the 2009 top overall pick throw several impressive bullpen outings recently, Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said it’s not in his plans to have Stephen Strasburg begin the season in the starting rotation, but he wouldn’t rule out the possibility either.
This stance differs from what Riggleman said last weekend when he indicated that Strasburg would likely being the 2010 season in the minors. Riggleman said he would remain open-minded about the idea of the pitcher making the big league club out of spring training, but also noted that Strasburg isn’t really competing for a spot in the rotation. However, as soon as Riggleman saw Strasburg throw his second bullpen session of the spring, he said that the pitching prodigy was “off-the-charts good.”
Strasburg’s fastball, curveball and changeup are already good enough to face Major League hitters. But it will be his control that ultimately decides whether or not he starts in the show or in the minor leagues. If he blows away the competition this spring, the Nationals may want to start him in the rotation this year to get him big league experience and also sell some tickets in the process.
That said, rushing a prospect before he’s ready is a good way to ruin his career. Some players never recover after being brought up too soon, although there have been others (Albert Pujols and Tim Lincecum to name a couple) that have became stars right away. We’ll see how Strasburg handles things this spring.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
