Washington Nationals phenomenon Stephen Strasburg took the hill for his fifth rehab start since Tommy John surgery on Saturday evening for the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs. The number 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft threw 64 pitches, 47 for strikes, in his longest outing of the season. Strasburg was perfect through five innings against the visiting Rochester Red Wings before a pair of singles to open the sixth inning ended his night after 64 pitches. His final line yielded just 2 hits and 1 earned run along with zero walks and 7 strikeouts.
In five rehab outings–14 1/3 innings–Strasburg is 0-1 with a 5.02 ERA. He has held batters to a .224 average and racked up an impressive 25 strikeouts. His fastball has hit as high as 98 MPH and he’s only issued three free passes which is encouraging.
With rosters expanding on September 1st, Strasburg will likely join the Washington National sooner rather than later, which is where the debate begins. With the Nationals out of the playoff race many question their decision to rush Strasburg.
So I ask you the reader, what would you do if you were calling the shots?
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