Stephen Strasburg

Bio

School: San Diego State University
Drafted: 1st Overall in 2009 by the Washington Nationals
Scouting Report: Strasburg is the best player in this draft class and the best college pitching prospect of at least the past 20 years, if not in the history of the draft. His college statistics are otherworldly; he has struck out more than half of the batters he's faced, which is rare even for a college reliever but almost unheard of for a starter. Strasburg works primarily with two pitches: a fastball that will sit 94-98 mph (watch scouting video) and that has touched 100 (reports of 103-plus are apocryphal and almost certainly bogus) and a hard curveball. The fastball has hard run to his glove side, and he'll hold his velocity for 100 pitches without any difficulty. The pitch he calls a curveball functions more like a slider, with a sharp late tilt that he'll bury down and in to left-handed batters. He has barely used his changeup this spring, but he does have one; he turns it over well and gets a hard screwballish fading action on it. Strasburg is in great shape and has unbelievable arm speed; he takes a long stride toward the plate and can wait to start his arm because it is so quick, which adds deception to his absurd velocity. His mechanics are clean and repeatable and he shows above-average command of his stuff, which is part of what separates him from past college flamethrowers like Bobby Witt (who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn in college). Strasburg could pitch in a major league rotation right now and has little or nothing to learn from facing minor league hitters who will struggle to catch up to his fastball, let alone adjust to his breaking ball.

Rumors

Concerns About Bryce Harper (3/10/2010)
Often considered the unanimous #1 pick in the 2010 draft, some scouts still express concerns about Bryce Harper's professional future.

2010 MLB Draft Notes: D1 Baseball Gets Underway (2/23/2010)
Many D1 baseball programs got underway this weekend. Here's a look at the performances from many top names on the 2010 MLB Draft board.

Bryce Harper, Anthony Ranaudo Lead Keith Law's Top 50 Draft Prospects (2/19/2010)
Keith Law of espn.com released his preliminary list of the Top 50 draft prospects for MLB's 2010 amateur draft in June.

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