Tag: Stephen Strasburg (Page 6 of 6)

      The MLB draft will never be popular

      June 10, 2009 /

      Joe Posnanski of SI.com wrote an interesting piece about why the MLB draft doesn’t work as a popular television event.

      1. The vast majority of players drafted will never get close to the big leagues. Take the 1994 draft … 15 years ago. There were 287 players taken in the first 10 rounds, and 190 of them — two thirds — did not get a single at-bat or throw a single pitch in the big leagues.

      2. Even the players who DO make it will not make it for years. If the NFL Draft is, as the cliché goes, like getting presents on Christmas morning, well, the baseball draft is like getting a savings bond from your grandmother that will mature when you turn 18.

      I love the analogy Posnanski used in his second point.

      Yesterday I DVR’d the MLB draft and was actually looking forward to watching it. The MLB Network had hyped the event up for a couple of weeks and being a Giants fan, I was excited to see who’d they take at pick No. 6.

      But once Bud Selig (who was awful, by the way) read Zack Wheeler’s name at pick six, I realized that I could care less about the rest of the first round. Unless you’ve lived under a rock the past couple weeks, you knew that the Nationals were going to take San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg with the top pick and there was a good chance the Mariners would select North Carolina’s Dustin Ackley (arguably the best position player in the draft) at No. 2. So outside of hearing whom your favorite team picked, there wasn’t much excitement to the draft.

      Posnanski is right – the MLB draft as a televised event doesn’t work. I applaud MLB for trying to make the event even a smidgen as popular as the NFL draft, but there just isn’t enough quality substance in the end. As Posnanski points out, most (and that’s not an exaggeration) of the players drafted in the first couple of rounds will never see the big leagues and even if they do, as a fan you have to wait three to four years before that happens. By that time, most casual fans have forgotten where those players came from.

      Again, I think it’s great that baseball has embraced the idea of making the draft more of an event. But the reality is that I would rather watch the entire third round of the NFL draft than just one pick in the first round of the MLB draft. And I think others feel the same way.

      MLB

      Is Stephen Strasburg the next great thing or the next Mark Prior?

      June 10, 2009 /

      After the Washington Nationals took San Diego State phenom Stephen Strasburg with the first overall pick of the 2009 MLB Draft, the first question that came to everyone’s mind was – will he sign?

      Strasburg’s agent is Scott Boras, who is someone that would rather sell his mother on eBay than not overcharge a team for one of his client’s services. The pre-draft buzz was that Washington is willing to pay whatever it takes to sign Strasburg, but we’ll see what happens when the two sides actually come to the negotiating table.

      The second question on everyone’s mind is – how good is this kid?

      As a sophomore at SDS, he went 8-3 with a 1.57 ERA and struck out 133 batters in 97.5 innings of work. Four of his 13 starts that year were complete games and two were shutouts. Through May this season, he posted a 13-1 record with a 1.32 ERA and 195 strikeouts in 109 innings pitched.

      The scouting report on Strasburg is eye-popping; his fastball tops out at 103 mph, his curve has excellent movement and his slider can clock in the 90s. If the Nationals absolutely needed him to pitch this season (which they don’t – there’s no reason to rush him), some believe that he’s even major-league ready now.

      But there’s no such thing as a “can’t miss prospect” and Strasburg isn’t immune to criticism. Some believe he could be the next Mark Prior in that he’s injury prone because he puts too much pressure on his wrist and his elbow comes up too high in his release (which usually signals arm problems down the road). Throw in the pressure that comes along with being the No. 1 overall pick (not too mention a No. 1 pick who will eventually sign for $50-plus million) and all of a sudden you realize that transportation to bustville runs 24 hours a day.

      Personally, I hope Strasburg lives up to the hype. The Nationals need him to be great and so does baseball, which is slowly starting to clean up its image. There has been a major buzz surrounding him and fans can’t wait to see him go toe to toe with major league hitters. Here’s hoping he has a bright and successful future ahead of him.

      MLB

      Will Scott Boras ruin the Major League Baseball Draft?

      June 8, 2009 /

      stras

      Well, Michael Rosenberg from Fox Sports thinks so. When the MLB Draft kicks off tomorrow, the Washington Nationals are expected to take top pitching prospect Stephen Strasburg from San Diego State University as the No. 1 pick. Unfortunately, his agent is evil mastermind Scott Boras who is already throwing out a ludicrous asking price.

      Boras has floated a $50 million signing-bonus demand for Strasburg to the media. The number is absurd, of course, and Boras knows it, but he doesn’t care. By leaking the $50-million figure, Boras has created an artificially high starting point for negotiations — and keeps the Nationals from claiming they did not know Strasburg would be so expensive. Boras has already built public pressure on the Nationals to pay Stephen Strasburg a ton of money.

      Major League Baseball needs a true slotting system — not just a ridiculous, unenforceable commissioner’s recommendation. It needs a system like the NBA, where the top pick is locked into a certain figure and the contract values diminish with each subsequent pick. The only way to get one is to negotiate it into the next collective bargaining agreement.

      The draft is just the first domino. Consider: in recent years, the Detroit Tigers paid above the commissioner’s recommendation for draftees Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller and Rick Porcello. Not long after, they sent Maybin and Miller to the Florida Marlins for a package that included Miguel Cabrera. If the Tigers had not paid above their slot, they probably would not have acquired one of the best hitters in the game.

      The NFL Draft has a similar problem — signing bonuses for the top players have gotten so huge that nobody wants the top three or four picks. Those picks are supposed to be the most valuable commodity that any losing team has. Instead, they often become anchors.

      The problem is worse in baseball, because at least bad NFL teams get some marketing juice out of the draft. Most baseball prospects don’t play in the majors for at least two years.

      This should be a rare chance to give losing teams an advantage, but it isn’t. Teams routinely pass on superior talent because of signability concerns, and with the economy in the toilet, that may be worse than ever this year.

      It is past time to take the draft out of Scott Boras’s hands.

      Rosenberg couldn’t be more dead on. Baseball does need a slotting system like the NBA. It’s truly ridiculous for a college phenom to be offered a multi-year or multi-million dollar contract. Baseball players seem to be the most fickle of athletes. They can have an amazing year in their early twenties, then teeter off, then come back and perform amazingly in their late 30s. This is why the Rays and Dodgers deserve some respect for the way they’ve cultivated their teams. Neither organization offered their prospects big money out of the draft and instead monitored them closely in their farm system. The Nationals offering Strasburg a huge contract would be idiotic despite the current problems with their organization. Pitchers, more than any position, are more prone to career-ending injuries and young guns aren’t often able to continue pitching at a top level. Tim Lincecum is an exception while Fausto Carmona is not.

      The Nationals should make the correct decision and give Strasburg a decent two-year contract that lets him develop in their farm system. If he performs well there against older players, then see how he does in the bigs. Young pitchers should have two successful consecutive seasons in the majors before they’re expected any significant arbitration. If the Nationals don’t want to follow this plan, then they should let another team take Strasburg’s (supposedly) huge contract.

      MLB

      Strasburg throws 17-strikeout no-hitter in final home start

      May 11, 2009 /

      San Diego State junior and future Washington National Stephen Strasburg threw a 17-strikeout no-hitter against Air Force in his final home start over the weekend.

      The 20-year-old is now 11-0 for the Aztecs, with an obscene 164 Ks in 87.1 innings. He leads all amateur pitchers in hype, earning potential, and 103 mph fastballs. Strasburg has a 23-strikeout game to his credit, too.

      Washington Nationals’ acting general manager Mike Rizzo was reportedly in attendance at the no-no, scouting Strasburg in advance of the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft. The Nats have the top overall pick, and there’s just no way they’ll pass on Strasburg at any price. If former Washington GM Jim Bowden can be believed, the decision was made long ago.

      Somewhere, agent/advisor Scott Boras is grinning one of these smug little grins.

      Bowden has said of Strasburg, “This is the best amateur pitcher since I was born.” (That would be May 18, 1961). He’s also said that the right-hander will be pitching in the big leagues in September. Position yourself for the waiver claim now, dynasty owners.

      If this kid winds up pitching for the Nationals in September, that would be freaking unbelievable. Hopefully Washington doesn’t rush him, because major league hitters have a tendency to humble hot young prospects. Still, what an amazing college career – he has a bright future ahead of him.

      MLB

      Nats to select Strasburg with #1 pick in June’s MLB draft

      May 3, 2009 /


      Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman is reporting that the Washington Nationals will select San Diego State University pitcher Stephen Strasburg with the #1 overall pick in next month’s MLB amateur draft.

      The feeling in baseball was that the Nationals might be scared off by the set negotiation price of $50-million-plus from Strasburg’s adviser Scott Boras to secure the youngster’s signature on a contract. But that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore within the organization.

      Acting Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo wouldn’t guarantee who he’s taking, but said regarding Strasburg when reached by phone, “It’s fair to say, going into it, he’s the No. 1 player on our board. We can say it. There’s not anybody who can jump ahead of us.” Rizzo added. “He’s an outstanding talent. He’s got all the tools to be a great player.”
      Rizzo wouldn’t absolutely commit since the draft is a month away. But he did say, “As of now, he’s the top guy.”

      The Nats remain one of the worst teams in baseball, and recently brought up young pitchers Shairon Martis and Jordan Zimmerman to gain major league experience in their starting rotation. Their hope for Strasburg is to join their rotation by July; scouts project him to be major-league ready coming out of college. Strasburg is 10-0 with 147 strikeouts and 15 walks for SDSU this season.

      MLB

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