Strasburg out for up to 2 years... what we can learn from it.

[Hank Scorpio]

Based on the fact they could have also passed on Strasburg and drafted Harper and Taillon in this draft.

Now Ackley would have been the best pick in that draft but the Nats could have also passed and let Strasburg go into his senior year, where he likely would have blown out his arm, and taken the #1 and #2 picks of the draft.

So they should have just not picked anyone?

[JTrea81]

This board would have crashed and burned if the O's would have had first pick and passed on Strasburg. All the naysayers would be going crazy about how cheap AM and the front office was. There would be talk of MASN money and how we aren't willing to spend what it takes to be successful. Hell, we hear that now because they took Hobgood instead of the other pitchers. How many times is Tim Lincecom brought up in threads around here..

Don't let anyone fool you here that they would have applauded the O's if they had passed on Strasburg. Those agenda driven posters would have skewered AM and PA.

The fact is that even with the TJ surgery Strasburg is still the right pick.

I would have given the O's my approval.

It would have been huge for them to recognize what others didn't and actually take the best pick LT for their franchise.

[Hank Scorpio]

I'm too confused to continue in this thread.

I can't even follow the logic.

[JTrea81]

So they should have just not picked anyone?

That was an option. Depending on how Ackley turns out and how Taillon turns out, it might have been their best move.

[Hank Scorpio]

That was an option. Depending on how Ackley turns out and how Taillon turns out, it might have been their best move.

You're a gem, Sly.

[DuffMan]

They look extremely stupid for taking him IMO.

He's likely out of baseball for 1.5-2 years and there's no guarantee he'll be as effective or that he won't become injured again with the same delivery if he does come back.

This is nothing more than MMQBng.

[ChrisAF79]

So they should have just not picked anyone?

Man, do I love me some insanity on a beautiful Friday afternoon. Trea's really got a winner going with this one, doesn't he?

Strasburg was absolutely the correct (and only) pick at the #1 spot. Far and away he was the best player in the draft with the highest ceiling. Risk notwithstanding, that is a pick that every single MLB club would make.

As many others have already stated, Tommy John surgery is hardly a death sentence. It's possible (likely even) that he will be back to pre-injury form by 2012. This a setback for sure, but hardly the end of the road for Stras.

[tennOsfan]

They look extremely stupid for taking him IMO.

He's likely out of baseball for 1.5-2 years and there's no guarantee he'll be as effective or that he won't become injured again with the same delivery if he does come back.

The words "extremely" and "stupid" are so mind-bogglingly ridiculous that it is impossible to find the words to counter such thinking.

Strasburg is a once-every-20-years type of pitching talent. The kind of pitcher who is a lock to win an overwhelming amounts of games he pitches.

To call a club "extremely stupid" for spending the first pick on him is ... well ... extremely stupid.

[sangar]

They look extremely stupid for taking him IMO.

I understand you're one who knows a lot about looking stupid but you're still wrong.

[byrdz]

Maybe Strasburg should just "suck it up" and go out there and pitch.

[DrungoHazewood]

#1 - Was Strasburg rushed to the majors? Did he pitch too many innings this year?

No. He was put on an ultraconservative schedule, pitching far more minor league innings than necessary, just to play the service time game. Going just by ability and polish he shouldn't have spent five minutes in the minors.

No, he didn't pitch too many innings. 68 in the majors, 55 in the minors. How could you possibly be more conservative? Turn him into a short reliever and have him only throw once a week?

#2 - According to Andy MacPhail's philosophy, you can NEVER have too much pitching. Does this confirm AM's beliefs in any way? Does it change anyone's minds who want to package some of our young pitching talent for a power hitter?

Good, young pitchers who can stay healthy are worth their weight in gold. At the present you can't identify the healthy ones in advance, so you acquire as many good, young pitchers as you can and ID them by attrition. You trade the ones you have only when you have a bunch of established pitchers who have a healthy track record, and you have a surplus.

Still, that's a lot of money to risk on a guy with a big potential of injury.

It's not a lot of money at all. What did Strasburg sign for, something like $21M, right? That's five million more than the O's paid for a couple years of Mike Gonzalez. It's what you might pay for a few years of a mid-tier free agent outfielder. It's very little in the grand scheme of things.

$20M for a chance that a truly superior talent can contribute to your team for 6+ years? That's pocket change. Teams regularly throw away two or three times that on guys like Ted Lilly or Gil Meche.

[TiredofLosing20]

I would have given the O's my approval.

It would have been huge for them to recognize what others didn't and actually take the best pick LT for their franchise.

Of course you would have. Of course you wouldn't have used them passing on Strasburg as an opportunity to beat AM over the head about not spending money. Come on.

The right and only pick was (and still is) Strasburg. Anything else (and I don't like using absolutes) is crazy talk.

[Tony-OH]

The Nats were 100% correct for selecting Strasburg despite the red flags. Like it has been said here, he's a once a decade talent and even with the TJ surgery he was the right selection for a Franchise in need of a marketble franchise player.

The scary part is what if he comes back and he throws harder like some guy do?

I do agree with Trea that he'll continue to be an injury risk due to his inverted "W" delivery but regardless, the Nats have already reaped the rewards with his success this season and the interest in the franchise that came with him.

[Ruzious]

Based on the fact they could have also passed on Strasburg and drafted Harper and Taillon in this draft.

Now Ackley would have been the best pick in that draft but the Nats could have also passed and let Strasburg go into his senior year, where he likely would have blown out his arm, and taken the #1 and #2 picks of the 2010 draft. Not to mention they would have kept bonuses down as well because Strasburg would have never got his $15 million.

They would have taken a huge PR hit, but it would have been the best LT option for the franchise. Taillon isn't as much of an injury risk as Strasburg was.

I guarantee had the Nats passed on Strasburg, people would be saying it was an extremely smart move on their part this season and probably would recognize it would have been a move that would have helped baseball.

No smart people wouldn't be saying that. You said earlier in this thread that you were on record that you would have taken Ackley. As Mackus said - even now, the Nats would be stupid to trade Strasburg even up for Ackley. You're just as wrong as Dibble was.

[now]

I think the chances are pretty good that he comes back and dominates again, maybe he's throwing in the mid-90s instead of the upper-90s and 100s, but he can still be very successful in the mid-90s.

I thought the rule of thumb with TJ surgery is that the pitcher comes back with even more (!) velocity. Really scary (100+) if true with Strasburg.