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Stephen Strasburg: A Report

This isn't Pirates-related, but I watched likely first overall 2009 draft pick Stephen Strasburg pitch against UNLV tonight and I thought there might be interest in a report.

Amateur baseball is not my area of expertise, and I'm not a scout, but if I were, I don't think his performance would be that much easier to describe. He was so much better than anyone else on the field that the game was less like any major league contest I've ever seen and more like an experienced gamer facing off against some poor patsy of a team in PlayStation. Sure, the other team might have dribbled a few hits in there, but for the most part, racking up strikeouts was mundane, a simple step-by-step process. 

In the first inning, it was clear that UNLV's hitters were totally unprepared to face someone with Strasburg's mitt-popping velocity, and they were behind most of his fastballs and fouled a lot of them off. Strasburg struck out the side. After that, UNLV tried sitting on the fastball, which got them a couple of hits, so Strasburg started mixing in breaking pitches that totally flummoxed them. 

He wound up with 14 strikeouts (I think; I can't find the boxscore online) in six innings. He allowed two runs, but neither were cause for concern--one came in on a balk, and the other was scored by a guy who reached base after Strasburg's catcher didn't catch one of his strikeouts. There were a ton of scouts in the crowd with radar guns, but there unfortunately weren't any radar readings on the scoreboard. But the sound his fastball made in his catcher's glove was amazing, and it appeared, from where I sat, that his location was very good too, as a number of batters looked baffled by called strikes. He looked really good, in other words, and I didn't see anything that proved all the glowing reports about him wrong.

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any chance that this ace will fall to us at 4? or is he going to be taken number one overall

by samvescovi on Mar 14, 2009 1:16 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I wonder what type of injury to Strasburg would be required to make him fall to #4. I think I would take him #1 even if he were to have Tommy John this year. Maybe one of us could try to hypnotize him and convince him that he has structural damage in his shoulder – and then we could de-hypnotize him after we draft him. Anybody know hypnosis?

by houksyndrome on Mar 14, 2009 4:03 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

what position do you think the pirates will select in the draft this time around? there pitching could use a hard throwing ace but i saw someone online had us taking a firstbasemen/center fielder from UNC

by samvescovi on Mar 16, 2009 9:44 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Ackley.

Yeah, he’s pretty awesome. If he takes to CF well, he’d be a great pick for us at #4.

Too early to really call the pick with accuracy, though. Lot of season left, yet.

by Vlad on Mar 16, 2009 10:08 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Love the site

I’ve been reading along for a few months now, and I think this is a really informative site, so I wanted to join the party. Charlie, you obviously know your baseball very well, and that’s really not so common among people at least in Pittsburgh anymore.

I’d honestly hate to grab another pitcher with a high pick (if we get the first this year). I understand he’s the best available, but after JVB, Bullington, Moskos, and Lincoln, I don’t know if I can take anymore disappointing young arms.

by Suffering Buc on Mar 16, 2009 7:45 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Disagree with you there

Pirates have to get the best player available in my opinion. It’s also important to note that all of those pitchers were picked under the previous regimes and this new management team has yet to select any pitchers in the first round or develop any pitchers in the long-term.

Also Moskos has yet to prove himself a disappointment.

I made most of my life decisions at a Foghat concert... I stand by them.

by Chester J Lampwick on Mar 16, 2009 11:22 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I don't see Moskos as a disappointment.

This is just about what I expected out of him when he was chosen. Ergo, not disappointing.

An overdraft, on the other hand…

by Vlad on Mar 17, 2009 1:19 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

*mistake*

didn’t realize we were already slotted at fourth this draft*

by Suffering Buc on Mar 16, 2009 7:46 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

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