Stephen Strasburg Solid in 5th Rehab Appearance
By Editorial Staff
Stephen Strasburg passed his latest test in the form of his 5th Minor League rehab start last night, allowing a single run on only 2 hits over 5 innings.
Strasburg struck out 7 for Triple-A Syracuse Saturday night while not issuing a free pass. 47 of Strasburg’s 64 pitches went for strikes and he was regularly working in the high 90’s while mixing in his ridiculous curveball.
It’s just not fair when your changeup is on par with some Major League fastballs.
Strasburg struck out 4 of the first 6 batters he faced and carried a perfect game into the 6th inning. The visiting Rochester Red Wings weren’t able to hit a ball out of the infield against Strasburg until the 5th. It was the first time Strasburg faced competition above the Single-A level and he dominated.
Strasburg left the game after allowing back-to-back singles to start the 6th. As his numbers would show, Strasburg said he felt great following his latest appearance. However, the 23 year old realizes that, in his words, he’s still “in the middle of spring training mode”.
Over his 5 rehab games, Strasburg has logged a total of 14.1 innings, allowing 8 earned runs on 13 hits over that span. Strasburg’s control has been excellent as the righty has now struck out 25 while only walking 3 during his assignment.
The only real blemish over Strasburg’s rehab assignment came during his 3rd appearance. During that start, Strasburg allowed 5 earned runs on 4 hits in only 1.2 innings, as it took Strasburg 26 pitches to record his first out.
Washington hasn’t made anything official, but Strasburg is expected to make another rehab start September 1st before possibly rejoining the Nationals. Strasburg would likely slide into the rotation spot that will be vacated by Jordan Zimmermann, who is nearing his team enforced innings limit.
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