Washington Nationals: Stephen Strasburg to DL

In the midst of his long awaited breakout season, Washington Nationals star Stephen Strasburg was placed on the disabled list on Sunday.  Without a clear replacement, the Nats could turn to top prospect Lucas Giolito to take his place.

Despite the New York Mets run to the NLCS last season, the Washington Nationals have been the clear front runners in the National League East for a majority of the 2016 season.  One of the main reasons why has been the dominance of Stephen Strasburg, who has become the team’s ace while Max Scherzer has somewhat regressed.

That dominance led the Nats to throw $175 million over seven years on the table to Strasburg – who happily accepted the offer.  While some argued that the deal was lower than what Strasburg could have made in free agency with agent Scott Boras doing the negotiating, that deal now looks like a steal for the 27-year-old.

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After entering the league with sky high expectations, it looked as if Strasburg would become the long awaited heir apparent to Nolan Ryan, Cy Young, or any great pitcher of the 1900s.  But when he suffered an elbow injury and underwent Tommy John surgery in 2010, the questions began to arise.

A year after his return came the fateful decision to shut him down in advance of the Nats first playoff appearance, a decision that will linger with Mike Rizzo’s career until he retires.

Rizzo’s decision, however, is proving to be the right one.  With three separate DL trips over the past three years, Strasburg has shown his issues with durability.  ESPN’s Eddie Matz questioned Strasburg’s decision to sign an extension early after the righty said he’s happy in Washington.

Strasburg’s injury history – and more importantly, potential to continue getting injured – is likely the main reason he opted to stay in Washington at what’s likely less than market value.

Roman Stubbs of The Washington Post wrote that Strasburg dislocated two ribs while working out, and is now on the DL with an upper back strain.  While an upper back strain likely won’t keep Strasburg out for an extended period of time, it’s a blow to a rotation that is faltering.  Matz noted that Gio Gonzalez has regressed significantly since the start of the season, while Scherzer has been struggling with home runs since the start of the season.

This season, Strasburg is has a 2.90 ERA with 11.42 K/9, all while limiting home runs and racking up strikeouts.  Assuming Strasburg isn’t out for long, his injury could be a good thing for the Nationals.  “What?!  That’s crazy!” you’re probably shouting.

With the Nationals lack of rotation depth their current core, they likely won’t call up a stale veteran to take his place for a week or two.  But instead, they could opt for top prospect Lucas Giolito, who is currently mowing down Double-A hitters at the ripe age of 21.

Giolito isn’t as highly regarded of a prospect as Strasburg was, but really, no pitcher has been in the years since his debut.  However, he’s still rated as the game’s number one prospect by MLB.com – which, despite the debuts of other top prospects, is not something to take lightly.

At 6’6″, Giolito projects as a future frontline starter with high velocity and three plus pitches upon his debut.  In Double-A this season, he owns a 3.17 ERA while striking out 9.13 batters per nine innings.  There’s no sense in keeping him down there for long with the success he’s having – and a week or two in the show could bode well for his confidence when (if) he returns to the minors.

The team’s number nine prospect, Austin Voth, looks to be another option as he’s in the midst of a solid season at Triple-A – but he doesn’t project to be an impact starter yet.

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A 3-7 record in their last 10 games with a struggling rotation is the perfect recipe for a top prospect’s debut.  Despite having only 22 starts at Double-A, the time is now to give Giolito a taste of the majors – and hopefully jump start a reeling Nationals team.