Stephen Strasburg: Nationals' Hurler Proving Baseball Is Better with Him Around

It had been over a year since Washington Nationals top prospect Stephen Strasburg had pitched before he took the mound against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday.

In five innings and 56 pitches, Strasburg reminded us why he was the No. 1 pick in 2009 and one of the most hyped pitching prospects in years.

Strasburg, who has drawn comparisons to a young Nolan Ryan given his propensity to hit 100 mph on the gun and throw 90 mph change-ups (that's not an exaggeration), blew through the Dodgers in his first major league outing since undergoing Tommy John Surgery last season. He threw 40 strikes to 16 balls, 14 of his first 17 pitches were strikes and he ended up with a two-hitter.

As Nationals manager Davey Johnson bluntly put it, via ESPN, "If you didn't like what you saw tonight, you don't like great pitchers."

Yep, one of the most exciting pitchers in baseball is back, and baseballs fans couldn't be happier. Strasburg is one of those players who fans from opposing teams can only sit back and admire, no matter their allegiances. The same goes for opposing players.

But Strasburg also showed a different side in his first outing back on Tuesday. After notching a whopping 92 strikeouts in 68 innings pitched last season, he actually appeared to pitch to contact this time around, opting to throw 96 mph fastballs at the knees rather than blow hitters by with 100 mph heaters.

In effect, his pitch count went down, averaging 15.7 pitches per inning, and in the long run such tactics will only increase the life of his arm.

Now, I don't expect Strasburg to become Greg Maddux anytime soon, pitching for the ground ball, but he actually impressed me more this time around because he showed that he had been studying baseball since his absence, even if he wasn't allowed to step out onto the diamond.

For a player like Strasburg, who seems to virtually get a strikeout whenever he wants to, adding wrinkles to his game is only going to make him better, and that's a frightening thing for the rest of the league.

But Strasburg has always looked like more than just a fire-baller. A reason why he's one of the most hyped prospects in years, in addition to confusing radar guns, is because he has the whole package.

At just 23 years of age, he already has the demeanor on the mound to be a top pitcher in the league, if not a historic one.

Said teammate Jayson Werth:

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"He's almost regal. I call him 'The King.' That's what he reminds me of. He's very calm, very still. When he walks through the clubhouse, his head doesn't move. He strolls.''

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The way Strasburg looked on Tuesday night after a surgery that generally ends careers, he figures to stroll through major league lineups for many years to come.

And baseball fans should be ecstatic.