Yes, the 27-year-old right hander finally looks like the pitcher everyone envisioned when he was a highly touted prospect six years ago. But the dominance he's displayed since mid-2015 doesn't — and shouldn't — erase the other five years of his injury-riddled career, which makes the Nats' extension a puzzling gamble that seems based on wishful thinking and a way-too-small sample size.
Anything but a reliable rotation presence during his six-year career, Strasburg already has had five separate DL stints, missing time for ailments including shoulder stiffness, neck tightness, muscle strains and, of course, a torn UCL in 2010 that required Tommy John surgery. Not to mention the few times he's left games with non-DL concerns such as heat exhaustion and shoulder irritation. …show more content…
That was in 2014, when he led the NL in starts (34) and compiled a 14-11 record with a 3.14 ERA and a league-leading 242 strikeouts in 215 innings. That was followed by two DL stints in 2015, which limited him to 23 starts, though he did win eight of his final 10 decisions from June 23 through the end of the season.
His work so far in 2016 has been admittedly impressive — 5-0 with a 2.76 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 49 innings — but even when factoring in his success late last season, that hardly seems like enough to declare that the real Strasburg, the $175 million Strasburg, now walks among us.
But maybe Washington's feeling lucky. Or maybe the Nats feel certain. Maybe this is the real Strasburg, one who can keep up his recent success over a long contract and lead the Nationals to the postseason promised land that has eluded them since they became a trendy on-paper champion in
Anything but a reliable rotation presence during his six-year career, Strasburg already has had five separate DL stints, missing time for ailments including shoulder stiffness, neck tightness, muscle strains and, of course, a torn UCL in 2010 that required Tommy John surgery. Not to mention the few times he's left games with non-DL concerns such as heat exhaustion and shoulder irritation. …show more content…
That was in 2014, when he led the NL in starts (34) and compiled a 14-11 record with a 3.14 ERA and a league-leading 242 strikeouts in 215 innings. That was followed by two DL stints in 2015, which limited him to 23 starts, though he did win eight of his final 10 decisions from June 23 through the end of the season.
His work so far in 2016 has been admittedly impressive — 5-0 with a 2.76 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 49 innings — but even when factoring in his success late last season, that hardly seems like enough to declare that the real Strasburg, the $175 million Strasburg, now walks among us.
But maybe Washington's feeling lucky. Or maybe the Nats feel certain. Maybe this is the real Strasburg, one who can keep up his recent success over a long contract and lead the Nationals to the postseason promised land that has eluded them since they became a trendy on-paper champion in