Ever since moving the franchise from Montreal to Washington D.C. the Nationals have consistently been the model of how not to run a major league organization. The last few years the Nationals have been searching for a spark to ignite excitement back into their fans. On Tuesday June, 9^th the Nationals may have finally found that spark, when they drafted Stephen Strasburg with the number one overall pick in the 2009 MLB draft. Strasburg, a 22-year-old pitching phenom from SDSU, has been all over the various sports media outlets ever since the start of the collegiate baseball season. The legend of his 100mph+ fastball with movement has had scouts drooling. Combine that fastball, which has topped out at 103mph, with an absolutely electric slider and a 90mph curveball, and you have a player that some scouts consider the best prospect of all time. However, like most legends there is much about the Stephen Strasburg story that hasn’t been covered. It is always important to go beyond the legend and learn more about the person (Strasburg). Luckily enough, SportsForce has been able to document some of his season and has a straight forward and simple scouting report to share on the Nationals newest edition.

Being headquartered in San Diego, we have seen Strasburg a number of times and agree he is a truly dominating pitcher. Strasburg’s stuff is very impressive and would fool even some of the Major League’s most seasoned hitters, but contrary to what others have reported, Strasburg is not a four-pitch pitcher. Nor does he feature a 90-mile per hour slider. Rather, Strasburg is a developing pitcher who has two dominant pitches with room for improvement. This is partially what excites Major League teams since today’s game is being built more and more around developing pitching at the minor league level. Strasburg has the potential to be a #1 starter that can carry a team similar to a Roy Halladay, Brandon Webb, Jake Peavy or Johan Santana. However, he must first overcome a few obstacles.

Stephen Strasburg Scouting Video vs. UC Davis April 4th, 2009 from Sports Force on Vimeo.

Strasburg relies primarily on two pitches: his explosive 95+ mile per hour fastball, which has been clocked as high as 103, and his sharp downward biting curveball. The fastball overpowers hitters and can be located to both sides of the plate. At this point, Strasburg is not a pitcher who locates his fastball consistently every time, but what he lacks in precision he makes up for in conviction and confidence. His curve ranges from the low to mid 80’s (mph) and can be thrown for strikes in almost any count ,which is rare for a young pitcher. When his curve is used in conjunction with the fastball, he often makes hitters uncomfortable and leaves them guessing what’s next.

The challenge Strasburg will face in professional baseball is hitters who are accustomed to seeing pitchers with overpowering stuff more often and are adept to figuring out starters that primarily feature only two pitches. It will take more than a hard fastball and plus curve to have long term success as a Major League starting pitcher. Whether it’s a two-seam fastball, change-up or split finger fastball, he will likely have to develop another above average pitch. A pitcher with only two options isn’t likely to be dominant as a starter at the Major League level.

Another impressive aspect about Strasburg is his size, strength and body control. Strasburg has a prototype pitcher’s body. He is tall, lean, and has a strong frame with powerful legs. He builds a lot of momentum with his windup and has great arm speed . His motion is compact and fluid and his repeatable mechanics allow him to be quick and consistent to the plate when holding runners (In the stretch his slide step delivery is usually 1.20 – 1.25 seconds). Yet, there are some downsides to the nature of his delivery.

While Strasburg’s motion creates incredible power, it offers little deception. Thus, Strasburg will be dependent on the quality of his pitches and location to succeed on the at the major league level.. As such, like Justin Verlander of the Detriot Tigers, Strasburg’s health could be and issue with regards to his ability to be successful. If he has a lingering injury or loses any part of his fastball, like Verlander did in 2008, without the deception of other pitchers, Strasburg’s pitches will be very hittable. Strasburg will need to maintain both his health and his quality pitches if he wants to be successful at the next level.