He was moved into the starting rotation prior to the start of 2008, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Strasburg went 8-3, 1.57 as a sophomore. He allowed just five hits per nine innings (sixth best in the nation), upped his strikeouts to 12 per nine and lowered his walks to just one per nine.
His batting-average-against was .136, one of the very best in America. He was named the Mountain West Conference Pitcher of The Week seven times, including five weeks in a row.
In two seasons, pitching against major college competition, Strasburg gave up just one home run.
Wow!
And then he got even better.
He pitched in an exhibition against Team USA, and allowed no hits while striking out seven in three innings. Playing for Team USA, Strasburg went 4-0, 0.88, striking out 62 and walking seven in 47 innings. He pitched in the Olympics and finished with a 2.45 ERA, pitching against both the Chinese and the Cubans.
He was the only amateur on a team full of professionals.
Do I need to go on? Yes, I believe I do.
Lincoln Hamilton, a writer for projectprospect.com, listed Strasburg as the best college pitcher in more than a decade. Well, Strasburg or Mark Prior. He just can't decide which is the more complete package.
Either way, he's in elite company. He includes Strasburg in a select group that includes Tampa's David Price, San Francisco's Tim Lincecum, Los Angeles' Jared Weaver, Cleveland's Kerry Wood, and Prior.
When compared to the top college pitchers of all time (per Hamilton), Strasburg has the lowest WHIP, the lowest home runs allowed per nine innings, the third best strikeouts per nine and the second lowest walks per nine within the group.
So why is Steven Strasburg so good? Because he can make a baseball dance.
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