Believe All the Hype?

The highly anticipated debut of Stephen Strasburg (left) was one that had never been seen before in Major League Baseball history. Perhaps only current Cleveland Indians closer Kerry Wood can relate to the situation of the Washington Nationals' phenom. In 1998 season, Wood, then a rising star for the Chicago Cubs, dealt with unattainable expectations to produce right away as a rookie. Strasburg's life was not always drenched with hype, however. In fact, he was not even drafted coming out of high school.

Strasburg was not picked in the amateur draft as a prep player. As a result, he looked to college, in which decided against prestigious universities, such as Harvard, Yale and Stanford, to enroll at San Diego State, the alma mater of both his parents.

Strasburg did not take long to impress, earning 2nd team all Mountain West Conference honors in his freshman year. He averaged well over a strikeout per inning in just 37 innnings pitched. His opponents, meanwhile, hit a weak .141 (18-128) against Strasburg. As a sophomore, he continued to dazzle in front of galleries of major league scouts. Strasburg was a consensus All-American, in which he finished 2nd in stirkeouts, 3rd in ERA, and 3rd in strikeouts per 9 innings. Such dominance qualified Strasburg as a semifinalist for both the Roger Clemens Award and the Dick Howser trophy. Furthermore, he shattered the ERA title for the MWC, previouslyy held by former TCU standout Jake Arrieta. The current starting pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles posted a 1.12 ERA in 2006, yet Strasburg posted a dazzling 0.63 ERA in 13 starts. In addition, his 90 strikeouts in league contests broke the old mark of 78 strikeouts set by former San Diego State Aztec Marcos Mendoza in 2001.

Following his sophomore campaign, the inevitable had arrived. Strasburg decided to forgo his final 2 years at San Diego State to throw his hat in the Major League Baseball draft. Looking to receive the best contract possible, Strasburg and his family hired renowned agent Scott Boras, who is loved by players yet despised by owners for his stubborn ways.

In Boras's opinion, the Nationals had to sign Strasburg, and, therefore, he told Washington that it would take nearly $50 million dollars to sign the right-handed fireballer. The so-called "super-agent" even threanted to look overseas for the talented Strasburg, a ploy which made the Nationals increasingly desperate. Finally, just 77 seconds before the deadline to sign, Strasburg persuaded Boras to agree to a contract with Washington. The four year $15.1 million dollar contract still became the richest contract ever awarded in baseball amateur draft history, edging Mark Prior's $10.5 million contract in 2001.

Strasburg made his professional debut in the Arizona Fall League on October 16, 2009, starting for the Desert Dogs at Phoneix Municpal Stadium. Asserted Leo Blavin, a personal friend and one of the ballboys for Strasburg, "I knew right away he was something special. I had never seen anything like him. Obviously, he will dominate in the majors for a long time."

Come Spring Training, the Nationals assigned their top overall selection in 2009 to Double A Harrisburg to start the 2010 season. Strasburg tossed 22 innings, striking out 27, walking just 6, and yielding a 1.64 ERA before being promoted to Triple A Syracuse.

If he wasn't good enough in Double A, Strasburg was even better against more seasoned competition in Syracuse. On May 4,2010, Strasburg tossed 6 scoreless innings, striking out six, and allowing just 1 walk and 1 hit. In total, Strasburg went 7-2 in the minor leagues with an ERA of 1.30, posted 65 strikouts, while walking just 13 in 55 1/3 innings.

The date was set for Strasburg-mania to descend upon Washington. It would June 8th, 2010. Although perhaps ready to pitch in the Major Leagues earlier in the season, the Nationals waited to the month of June, ensuring that Strasburg's potential date of salary arbitration was delayed an entire season. Moreover, the organization hope that Strasburg would set the tone for a lengthy homestand.

Of course, the game was blown out of proportion. The game was covered nationally, coast to coast by MLB Network, and the entire ESPN crew watched at Nationals' Park. Luckily, Strasburg did not fail to disappoint, pitching seven innings, allowing just 2 runs, walking no batters, while setting a team record with 14 strikeouts. A late offensive surge by Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham allowed Strasburg to pick up the first win of his career. Four starts later, he sits with a 2.27 ERA with 48 strikeouts. Most impressive, Strasburg has walked just seven batters, yet he is just 2-2.

Oddly enough, people around baseball have begun to actually debate whether Stephen Strasburg is worthy of playing on the National League All- Star team in 2010.

There just has not been enough starts for Strasburg to make a legitimate case. His overall body of work doesn't measure up to the likes of Josh Johnson or Ubaldo Jimenez. Don't worry, Nationals fans. I am confident that Strasburg will be an All-Star in the coming years, joining bonafide All-Star third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Obviously, his fastball is Strasburg's most famous pitch, but his movement on both the curveball and change-up are mind bloggling. Said Pirates shortstop Ronny Cedeno when asked to compare Strasburg to another Major League Pitcher, "He reminds me of Ubaldo, the best pitcher in baseball right now. He's that scary." My only critcism of Strasburg right now is the amount of home runs given up. I would like to see the talented right-handed pitcher to play more to his defense, specifically the eight fielders behind him. Strasburg does not need to overwork himself by striking out each batter. I also want to see how he deals with adversity. For years now, he has not dealt with any failure. It will be intersting to see how Strasburg would respond. Knowing his pedigree though, Stephen Strasburg should be just fine.

-Justin Silberman (guest writer)