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It should come as no surprise to anyone that not only did Scott Boras snap up likely No. 1 pick Stephen Strasburg as his latest client, but made it known that he intends to get him one of the two or three richest contracts ever awarded to a major league rookie.
The deal he is seeking from whatever team drafts Strasburg (almost certainly the Washington Nationals at No. 1) is in the neighborhood of six years and $50 million.
That is right along the lines of the contract Daisuke Matsuzaka received from the Red Sox. But the difference is, Dice-K was a proven success in Japan and the World Baseball Classic before reaching the majors.
Strasburg played for Team USA in the 2008 Olympics and is absolutely dominating college ball right now, but is he really ready to go straight to the major leagues? According to many of his scouts, yes he is. It’s likely he’ll get a call-up to whatever team takes him as soon as he’s eligible.
Washington Nationals GM Stan Kasten is not stupid. He knows that if he wants to secure a generational talent like Strasburg, he’ll need to award him the contract Boras believes he deserves.
The Nationals especially cannot afford to alienate fans by letting Strasburg slip through their fingers. Once they draft him, though, it can almost be guaranteed he’ll be in a Nationals uniform sometime in 2009.
In case you’re still behind on Strasburg, check out Lee Jenkins’ feature story on him from Sports Illustrated. Also, watch this video of him striking out 23 batters in one game back in 2007; He’s since gotten stronger and gained more velocity.
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