Stephen Strasburg is a great starting pitcher for the Washington Nationals, but they cannot trust him to make it through a season.
When the Washington Nationals selected Stephen Strasburg with the first overall pick in the 2009 Amateur Draft, they hoped that he would become their next star starting pitcher. The early returns were indeed promising, as he flew through the minor leagues and debuted the following season. His first experience with the major leagues saw him post a 2.91 earned run average across 68 innings and 12 starts.
Still, an injury limited his greatness that season. The Nationals placed him on the disabled list with an inflamed right shoulder in July of that year, and he missed about a month of action. After returning, he made a few starts before landing on the disabled list again with a torn ulnar collateral ligament. Ultimately, Strasburg required Tommy John surgery, and he missed almost all of the next season.
The following season saw the righty undergo serious innings restrictions. Although he pitched brilliantly, he only made 28 starts and the team limited him to 159.1 innings. The Nationals shut him down in early September, and he missed the remainder of the season and the postseason. Rather than contribute to the playoff push, he sat on the bench and watched his team lose to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game Five of the National League Division Series.
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After the controversial ending to 2012, both Strasburg and the Washington Nationals hoped to get off to a better start in 2013. The pitcher mostly avoided injuries, only spending a month on the disabled list. He finally made it through a season without injury in 2014, when he posted a 3.14 earned run average along with 10.13 strikeouts per nine innings.
After posting his first healthy season, 2015 seemed like the perfect year to build his value. He only had two seasons left before becoming a free agent, and his reputation for becoming injured was almost as great as his reputation for being a star. Unfortunately, he failed at this goal and pitched just 127 innings. Even this past season, he only made 24 starts and was unavailable for the postseason after landing on the disabled list in late August.
Given his incredible ability to be injury-prone, the Washington Nationals cannot rely on Stephen Strasburg. Sure, they may have given him a large contract, but that it no reason to have faith in his ability to consistently produce. Since joining professional baseball, he has only surpassed the 200 innings mark once. That is an astonishing number for a player who has been pinned as the ace of the franchise.
If the Washington Nationals want to make a deep playoff run, they will have to expect to not have Strasburg as a part of that run. There may be times when he is available, but he finds himself on the disabled list several times a season. Oftentimes the difference between a good and a great team is the durability of the players. Just because a team may look good on paper before the season does not mean that they have the ability to stay healthy and replicate the results. Anyone looking for a lesson here should look to the New York Mets.
Instead, the Nats should build their team around the stud, but they should also have depth in the rotation. Max Scherzer is a great pitcher, and Tanner Roark and Joe Ross are nice pieces to have. Still, they would greatly benefit from adding a starter or two this offseason. Lucas Giolito may be in the pipeline, but it would be rash to place too much of a bet on a rookie.
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Perhaps as Strasburg matures, he will find a way to spend more time contributing to his team. While this may be unlikely, we can only wish for things to fall into place. Until then, it is always a solid idea to plan for the worst and hope for the best.