Is Stephen Strasburg Already Becoming One of MLB's Most Dominant Starters?

Stephen Strasburg "struggled" Monday night against the Houston Astros, allowing two runs on six hits and one walk through six innings. He struck out five in the contest.

I say he struggled because coming into the game he had an ERA of just 0.69 through 13 innings on the young season.

After Monday night's contest, Strasburg now has a 2-0 record with a 1.42 ERA through 19 innings. He's struck out exactly one batter per inning and owns a WHIP of .095.

Strasburg is one of 15 pitchers in the majors who currently own ERAs under 1.50 (as of April 16th), but that number is sure to dwindle as the likes of Barry Zito and Jake Westbrook return to their usual form.

Even though he's started just three games this season (20 in his career), it's clear that he is already becoming one of MLB's most dominant starting pitchers.

The numbers speak for themselves.

In just 111 career innings, Strasburg has struck out 135 batters. Striking out opponents is a main feature of most dominant starters, as there aren't many aces around the league that aren't capable of striking guys out.

Strasburg takes that to a whole other level; he is simply overpowering.

His electric stuff has helped him to compile a career SO/9 of 11.1.

Just look at his debut back in 2010—seven innings, 14 strikeouts. He was nearly unhittable (Delwyn Young's two-run homer was the only blemish), and that start set the tone for what would expect from him in future starts.

That ability to strike batters directly correlates to his ability to limit baserunners.

Opponents don't put the ball in play very often against Strasburg, which is why is career WHIP is below 1.000. He doesn't give up many hits (6.7 per nine) and doesn't issue many free passes (two per nine), a key attribute that most dominant starters possess.

Strasburg's career record is 8-4, with the four losses being a direct result of Washington's poor offense in recent years. He's pitched well enough to earn the win, but the offense just didn't have his back.

He's so dominant that, even with an innings limit of 160 this season, he may even be considered for the NL Cy Young. Only three in history have won the Cy Young with less than 200 innings (Fernando Valenzuela, Rick Sutcliffe and David Cone), but it wouldn't be out of the question to see Strasburg earn some votes.

If he can maintain an ERA under 2.50 (still above his career mark of 2.31) and win 14-plus games in his 160 innings of work, he'll make a strong case for himself. It'll be difficult to beat the likes of Roy Halladay, Clayton Kershaw or several of the other big-name starters in the National League, but if anyone can do it, it's him.

The Washington Nationals are now 8-3 on the season following Monday night's game, and Strasburg has been a large part of three of those victories (Opening Day against the Cubs was a no decision). 

With Strasburg on the hill every fifth day, the Nationals have a legitimate shot at winning the ballgame. 

Strasburg seems like he could be an automatic victory every time he pitches this season, and that's what you'd expect from one of baseball's most dominant starters.