Washington Nationals make Stephen Strasburg first pick in Baseball’s amateur draft
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Bill Jempty | Wednesday, June 10, 2009 |
The worst team in major league baseball is expected to shell out big bucks to the fireballing righthander out of San Diego State. From AP-
The Washington Nationals selected pitcher Stephen Strasburg with the first pick in baseball’s amateur draft Tuesday night.
Considered one of the most talented prospects in the event’s 45-year history, Strasburg went 13-1 with a 1.32 ERA this season for San Diego State, leading the Aztecs to their first postseason berth since 1991.
Featuring a fastball that has been clocked at 102 mph, Strasburg leads Division I pitchers with 195 strikeouts in 109 innings. He was the only amateur on the U.S. Olympic baseball team that won a bronze medal in Beijing last summer.
“We are thrilled to select someone with the special talents that Stephen possesses,” Nationals acting general manager Mike Rizzo said in a statement. “Those talents have long been on our radar, and Stephen’s domination at San Diego State and vast experiences gained with Team USA last summer have done nothing to change our thoughts about his abilities.”
Signing the right-hander could be a challenge for the Nationals, however, because agent Scott Boras is sure to seek a record contract.
With the second pick, the Seattle Mariners chose North Carolina slugger Dustin Ackley, who has batted at least .400 for three consecutive seasons.
So what can we expect from Strasburg. Based on history, number #1 picks
Have about a 40% chance of being a All-Star during their major league careers
but
None have ever made it to the baseball Hall of Fame. Though two still active number one picks, Chipper Jones and Alex Rodriguez have the credentials to make it.
Only two were ever named rookie of the year.(Darryl Strawberry and Bob Horner)
There have been good to very good players picked first overall, Strawberry and Horner(when he was healthy), BJ Surhoff, Shawn Dunston, Rick Monday, Jeff Burroughs, Andy Benes, and Floyd Bannister to name a few. There have been marginal major leaguers(Mike Ivie, Danny Goodwin, Paul Wilsonetc.) and others who didn’t pan out at all.(Steve Chilcott, Al Chambers, Brien Taylor etc) How will Strasberg fit in? I think he could be another David Clyde. Rushed to the major leagues by a bad team seeking to keep fans coming to the ballpark. The pitcher does all right to good for a short time, then his arm falls off. It will be at least a few years before we know if I’m right or not.
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