Stephen Strasburg: The Real Deal or Overhyped?

[AmishTickler]

So after one incredible pitching performance Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates, are you ready to claim that Stephen Strasburg is the real deal? Or do you think he is over-hyped? I happened to catch a lot of the Nationals/Pirates game on the MLB Network Tuesday night and I'm ready to say he's the real deal. The kid was impressive. He seemed a little nervous in the first inning, but after that he seemed poised and able to handle the stress of the situation. He has 4 pitches that he can throw at any time for strikes. Just filthy stuff. And he seemed to get stronger as the game went on. He struck out the last seven batters he faced. And yeah, I know it was against the Pirates. 😛 But I'm still on the Strasburg bandwagon. Although I'm not sure I want him in the Phillies division. lol

Any thoughts?

 

[Tickle Fiend]

I don't think anyone can look at his performance on Tuesday and say he's overhyped. He exceeded every expectation placed upon his first big-league game.

I also think he's for real but I'd like to see what he does against tougher competition. This could be the beginning of the Nats' ascension from the gutter to being an attraction in baseball.

 

[The Fallen Angel]

hes way overhyped, plenty of pitchers or players in general are overhyped and then brought in and have a good game or two, but your not the real deal until you do it for seasons on end. This kid seems to have "it" but we cant say till at least the end of next season and even 1 or 2 good seasons doesnt mean your the real deal. Too early to tell

 

[Cy/MiG]

I'll have to wait and see how he does against a major league lineup before I make any educated call. 😀

And even then, only time will tell.

I would say for sure though that he is one of the top young arms in the game right now.

 

[ticklingfeet4fu]

hes way overhyped, plenty of pitchers or players in general are overhyped and then brought in and have a good game or two, but your not the real deal until you do it for seasons on end. This kid seems to have "it" but we cant say till at least the end of next season and even 1 or 2 good seasons doesnt mean your the real deal. Too early to tell

Overhyped? How do you promote players without hyping them up? I think this is a good story. I am a Mets fan and I couldn't wait to watch that game. The fact that he had pressure with being " overhyped " ( as you say ) and he struck out 14 on 94 pitches. Now do I anticipate him striking out 14 games? No! But I think he is a talent that has the potential to be GREAT! Throw away the pitch count and this guy could win 250 plus games. If you keep a pitch count you will stunt this kid and he will win about 175 games. Overhyped? In my opinion, no he is not.

 

[Mitchell]

I say it's way too early to tell with Strasburg. To me, the jury is still out on him. Remember how good Dwight Gooden was his first two years? Baseball fans thought he was going to be the next Nolan Ryan. As it turned out, he fell far short of that, primarially because of injuries, drug suspensions, and being on some bad Mets teams for a few years in the early 90s.

No doubt, Strasburg has talent, although I havent seen him pitch yet. I prefer to wait a bit, and not judge after just one game, whether a guy is the "Real Deal" or not. Plenty of Hall of Famer pitchers. (Glavine, Maddux, Smoltz) had terrible first years, and others had great beginnings, and then faded badly. For this reason, it will take time before we see what's up with Strasburg.

Mitch

 

[Big_Dogg85]

still...to strike out 14 batters in your first game, even if it was the Pirates, to allow NO WALKS and only 2 earned runs when the media has been hyping up your debut since you went from A to AA to AAA and through the draft, on top of the fact that it may be Washington's only perfect standing room sell-out this season... he still has a way to go but he did what many of us don't necessarily do consistently: he made a very good first impression!

 

[Dave Pavet]

The Nationals have 2 first round draft picks...Strasburg last year and Byrce Harper this year. Strasburg lived up to his expectations in his first game, 14 K's and 0 walks, are you kidding me! and he only gave up two runs and struck out the last 7 batters that he faced. He has 4 pitches and analysts say that 3 of his pitches are upper echelon major league level already. He threw in the high 90's throughout the game, hitting 100 mph a few times. He actually seemed to get stronger as the game went on... Harper was the first pick in this years draft. At 17 yeras of age, he stands 6' 3" and 205 lbs... This year at the college of Southern Nevada in 66 games, his numbers: 31 HR, 98 RBI, AVG .443, OBP .526, SLG .987 in a league that uses wooden bats. In High School he hit Home runs that were between 450 - 500 ft and in a home run hitting contest he hit one that measured 502 ft. (aluminum bat). He is a catcher with a great arm but the Nationals may play him at first to save his legs.

 

[AmishTickler]

Strasburg has done something even more impressive. He's managed to get INDIANS fans to actually come out to the ball park. 😀

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp..._id=11062436&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

 

[Cy/MiG]

I say it's way too early to tell with Strasburg. To me, the jury is still out on him.

... it will take time before we see what's up with Strasburg.

Exactly.

Remember how good Dwight Gooden was his first two years? Baseball fans thought he was going to be the next Nolan Ryan.

They thought Doc was going to lose almost 300 games, walk alot of batters and throw a ton of wild pitches?

 

[Cy/MiG]

Strasburg has done something even more impressive. He's managed to get INDIANS fans to actually come out to the ball park. 😀

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp..._id=11062436&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Ricky Vaughn was apparently not enough.

At least now Rachel Phelps won't have to move the team to Miami.

 

[AmishTickler]

Ricky Vaughn was apparently not enough.

At least now Rachel Phelps won't have to move the team to Miami.

Forget about the curve ball Ricky, give him the heaterrrrrr.

 

[Cy/MiG]

I think the last time the Indians sold out was when Cerrano sacrificed a chicken to Jobu.

 

[AmishTickler]

I think the last time the Indians sold out was when Cerrano sacrificed a chicken to Jobu.

I say "Fuck you," Jobu, I do it myself.

 

[storm7400]

Strasburg has 4 "+" pitches and locates them. Yeah he had 5 walks last outing, but this kid isn't even given scouting reports. He's just going out there and trusting his stuff. In 12.1 innings pitched, he's only given up 6 hits with 22 strikeouts. Not his fault that the media has finally given the MLB draft comparable treatment to the NFL and NBA draft. Goes without saying that he has to continue to do it for a length of time, but he's given hope to a morbid franchise and that is worth every bit of attention.