Much has been made of Stephen Strasburg’s first two starts. 22 Ks in 12 1/3 innings. A 2.19 ERA and 2 wins. A great K/BB ratio. Everything’s looking good. But if you watched Sunday’s start, you know his start wasn’t great. He walked 5 guys in just over 5 innings. He left the game with the bases loaded and one out. Thankfully Drew Storen was able to save the game for the Nats and his buddy Strasburg, getting out of the jam without letting in a run. Storen, by the way, has inherited 12 runners, none of them have scored.
The point of this, though, is not to rip Strasburg. Rather, it is to stress that Strasburg is even better than people realize. He had a bad outing. He didn’t pitch well. He missed spots, he walked FIVE guys. That’s alot in such a short time. And even with all of that, he only allowed a run. He owes Storen, because it could have been as bad as 4 runs in 5 1/3. But even that isn’t HORRIBLE. It’s amazing the talent that this guy has, and even his worst is still better than most guys in the league.
Neyer on Strasburg
Rob Neyer was being interviewed in some sort of podcast, and spent a little over 3 minutes talking about Strasburg. He was asked where he thought Strasburg ranked among pitchers playing right now. Neyer said, “I think he’s in the top 10 right now, maybe top 15 if you want to be conservative”. He also predicted that he’d finish the season with a record of 8-2, with an ERA somewhere in the range of 2.20 to 2.40. He also noted that the most impressive thing about Strasburg is just how GOOD his pitched are. He noted that his fastball is among the best in the majors and on top of that, his curveball/slider is among one of the very best breaking balls in the majors. He sounded almost in awe, juts like the rest of us.