Stephen Strasburg Debuts: 2009 Overall No. 1 Set To Make His First Start

The Washington Nationals organization was buzzing on Monday night for a few different reasons.

Just before 6pm CDT, they were set to draft number one overall for the second straight season. Not only were they excited to draft Southern Nevada outfielder Bryce Harper, but they were also excited that their number one overall pick from 2009 was just 24 hours from making his big league debut.

Tonight, in the nation's capital, all eyes will be on former San Diego State phenom Stephen Strasburg as he makes his debut tonight for the Washington Nationals against the Pittsburg Pirates.

This is a debut that's been talked about since Strasburg was drafted in June of last year. A lot of people thought he would see the big leagues before the 2009 season came to a close, while others knew it wasn't the smartest idea, especially after he had just completed his final collegiate season at San Diego State a few months prior.

Now people are buzzing about the next coming of Randy Johnson, just not as tall or lanky, but he throws just as hard. Ok, so maybe that's not a fair comparison to put on a kid about to make his debut but he's had success at every level, so there's no reason for me to think he won't have more of the same in the big leagues.

What Strasburg has to do tonight is calm his nerves before taking the ball tonight. This is the biggest stage of his career so there's no doubt he'll have butterflies before taking the field tonight.

Don't try to overthrow his pitches, stay with what has worked in the past and he'll need to get himself into a groove. Stay ahead in the count or he'll risk throwing too many pitches too early and he'll get himself into trouble.

He'll be facing guys like Andy LaRoche, Ryan Doumit, and Neil Walker who has been on a tear so far this season hitting .326 with five multi-hit games in his last 10 games.

For the Pittsburgh Pirates, he's not exactly the toughest pitcher they've faced this week after coming off successive games against San Francisco Giants' ace Tim Lincecum and unbeaten Chicago Cubs right-hander Carlos Silva.

Pirates' outfielder Lastings Milledge knows that there's going to be a different feeling in the air in the stadium tonight in Washington D.C. but told Alan Robinson of the Associated Press , “We expect it to be electric. But are we expecting anything different than anybody else? No. We face good pitchers all across the league. We know he’s going to bring it, but he’s got nine tough guys to get out, so we’re going to battle.”

Milledge might have flapped his gums a little too much when he said "He has to face the nine best hitters in the world," though I'm hoping he wasn't referring to the Pirates' offense, currently last in the national league in team batting average (.237).

What Lastings Milledge may not know is about Strasburg's buckling breaking ball that has left many a college batter on the ground.

After throwing consecutive 100+ MPH fastballs, Strasburg throws up a 70 MPH breaking ball which would seem completely unfair to most hitters. If you don't know just how good this kid has been through his time in Double-A and Triple-A, just take a look at his combined stats: 7-2 with a 1.30 ERA, 65 strikeouts, 13 walks in 55 and one-third innings pitched.

What hasn't been seen is the celebrity type following the young 21-year old has had through his stops in Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester. So much so that he has needed extra security usually seen with a first year player in the NFL or NBA, certainly not Major League Baseball.

Even Nationals' manager Jim Riggleman admitted that he's ready for the hoopla of his pitcher's debut to be over. “I’m looking forward to that first outing or two being out of the way,” Riggleman told the Associated Press . “I know the attention’s not going to go away completely, but the anticipation of the thing has been building since the [2009] draft."

Tonight, the young right hander will walk out on to the mound in front of a sold out crowd, in front of more media members than the Nationals have seen since their Opening Night a few years ago and to more camera flashes than a possible Barry Bonds home run.

After that, Strasburg will be able to take his first deep breath and settle in to what he and the Nationals hope is a successful debut. Even though the right hander has a job to do tonight, general manager Mike Rizzo says he still wants the youngster to take it all in.

“He needs to take a step back, take a deep breath and kind of soak in the moment because you only debut once in your career. It’s a special day for him, also. We’re looking forward to getting back into a more normal routine with Stephen Strasburg as part of the Washington Nationals.”

Tonight is a big night for not only Strasburg and his family who will undoubtedly be on hand to witness it, but also for the Nationals who get to see the start of a bright future ahead.