Stephen Strasburg Shines in Washington Nationals' Debut

Perhaps Cincinnati Reds phenom Aroldis Chapman and Washington Nationals super-phenom Stephen Strasburg are playing a game of “Whatever you can do, I can do better.”

On Monday, Chapman had a solid Cactus League debut against the Kansas City Royals. Yesterday, Strasburg was equal to the task and matched Chapman’s performance.

Strasburg was solid against the Tigers yesterday.

The No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft hurled two scoreless innings against the Detroit Tigers in the Nationals’ 9-4 defeat yesterday. Strasburg gave up two singles, struck out two, and threw 15 of his 27 pitches for strikes.

While Strasburg didn’t reach the 100 mph mark like Chapman did (he was in the high-90s however), he did snap off a wicked curve to strikeout the legendary Brent Dlugach to end his second inning of work. You would like to see Strasburg throw more of his pitches for strikes, but that could have been attributed to nerves and just trying to get his feat wet against major league hitters.

The former San Diego State Aztec is the most hyped pitcher of my generation (1985 – current) and like Chapman, the Nationals will have a decision to make with Strasburg. Do they start him in the minors or do they put him on the major league roster?

I am going to say they send him down to the minors to start the season, but they bring him up in May. Strasburg is the one player the Nationals have that can sell tickets and they won’t hesitate to call him up if the they are struggling out of the gate.

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