National nightmare: Strasburg needs Tommy John surgery

Stephen Strasburg likely needs Tommy John surgery.

That's a terrible blow to the Washington Nationals' franchise pitcher and to the game of baseball, who counted Strasburg as its most electrifying rookie in recent memory.

It's also a killer for fantasy owners who were counting on Strasburg to be their savior during the stretch run of the season. And even if you aren't close to contending for a championship in 2010, you may have at least been looking forward to keeping Strasburg and building your squad around him next year. Unfortunately, TJ surgery comes with at least a 12- to 18-month recovery process, meaning Strasburg won't be available until 2012.

We saw red flags when the phenom had a DL stint a month ago with shoulder inflammation. Then he came back, made three starts, got pulled from Saturday's game against Philadelphia, and the rest is history. If you were able to capitalize on all the hype and trade Strasburg at his peak value, good for you. If not, I'm sorry.

All we're left with is some impressive 2010 stats (5-3, 2.91 ERA, 92 strikeouts in 68 innings) and the hope that he'll someday realize his potential. Tommy John surgery isn't a death sentence for a career - current aces Chris Carpenter, Francisco Liriano and Josh Johnson have all made successful recoveries in recent years. But all those comebacks took time, and that's what Strasburg needs right now.

Good luck, kid.

Photo by The Associated Press

Strasburg's stellar start

Rarely do fantasy prospects live up to the hype, especially in their major league debuts.

Stephen Strasburg must be one of a kind.

The Nationals phenom was stupendous in his first big league game Tuesday night, a 5-2 win over the Pirates. He electrified the D.C. crowd with a whopping 14 strikeouts, one shy of the record for an MLB debut (sobering note: the record of 15 is held by J.R. Richard and the immortal Karl Spooner).

Perhaps you watched the game on MLB Network: Strasburg showing an awesome repertoire and command of his pitches; the rookie needing only 94 pitches to breeze through seven innings, with his fastball reaching up to 100 mph and still blazing in the high 90s just before he left the game; Bob Costas waxing poetic about Strasburg being a potential Hall of Famer and Washington's best pitcher since Walter Johnson.

If you're a Strasburg owner, you've got to be grinning. The kid is a game-changer, for both the Nats and your fantasy squad. But if you're looking to sell high - and assuming you're not in a keeper league - his value might not be greater in 2010 than it is right now. I heard of an offer of Cliff Lee for Strasburg straight up in one league Tuesday, and that was before Strasburg even threw a pitch.

Strasburg may be great, but remember, this was only the Pirates, and there are bound to be some bumps this summer. I'd take the proven Lee, who's pitching at a Cy Young level so far, for Strasburg in a heartbeat. But again, there's no way I'm letting Strasburg slip away if I'm in a keeper league, and if I do trade him it's only for an elite starter or hitter in return. Otherwise, I can't wait to see what the kid does for an encore. 


Photo by The Associated Press

Podcasting pleasure

Herald colleague and podcasting fool Jason Dill and I are back with another Fantasy Focus baseball podcast for the month of June.

Click on the link to hear our take on some impact rookies (Michael Stanton, Stephen Strasburg, Jason Heyward); what to do with struggling stars (Carlos Pena, Wandy Rodriguez, Josh Beckett, Grady Sizemore), Kendry Morales; and fantasy's best pitcher so far in 2010 (surprise, it's not Tim Lincecum).

Also, listen closely for the souped-up intro by the mighty Metallica ...

Strasburg, Stanton are coming

Looking for reinforcements for your fantasy team? Look no further than two super prospects who are coming to a stadium near you.



Start with Washington wunderkind Stephen Strasburg, who's been blowing them away (6-2 1.43 ERA in 10 starts between Double-A and Triple-A) and packing in the stands in the minor leagues. The rookie is set to make his major league debut June 8 in Pittsburgh, and the baseball world is already buzzing. A friend of mine who works in the Nationals organization and has watched many of Strasburg's starts (they're shown on MASN, the Nats' TV partner) was raving to me last week about the righty's tantalizing mix of 99 mph fastballs and 89 mph change-ups. Fantasy players should be excited, too, and will want to have Strasburg on their team and in their lineups, because there's a good chance he can be an immediate contributor.

If you already missed the boat on the much-hyped Strasburg but still want to bolster your lineup with a top prospect, turn your attention to the Marlins' Michael Stanton, a power-hitting outfielder who's already unleashed some legendary home runs.



Stanton, a 6-foot-5, 240-pound 20-year-old (please don't confuse him with former MLB pitcher Mike Stanton!) already has 20 homers and 50 RBIs in 48 games this year and has been favorably compared to the Braves' Jason Heyward in his power potential. While he has shown a tendency to strike out too much (50/40 K/BB ratio this year), that can be forgiven if he can give us 20 or so homers at the major league level this season. The Marlins have already delayed Stanton's arbitration eligibility by keeping him in the minors this long, so there's a strong possibility we'll see him in the show in the next week or two.

If you're jealous of other fantasy owners who grabbed Heyward or Strasburg in your draft, picking up Stanton -owned in just 3.8% of ESPN fantasy leagues - would be a nice consolation prize.

Listen up: Fantasy Focus podcast

Our first Fantasy Focus podcast of the year is now posted on Bradenton.com.

Herald staffer Jason Dill and I chatted about some possible buy low and sell high candidates, from Mark Teixeira to David Ortiz to Paul Konerko to Stephen Strasburg. If you've always wondered what my voice sounded like, this is your big chance.

Got a fantasy question? Post a comment here and we may answer it on our next podcast.

Strasburg is coming

If you've been waiting for Stephen Strasburg to save your fantasy team, you're in luck. The first overall pick of the 2009 MLB draft was promoted to Triple-A on Tuesday, putting him one step closer to his big league debut.

Strasburg tore through Double-A (3-1, 1.64 ERA, 27 Ks, 6 BBs in 22 innings), and if he can duplicate that performance at the next level, it's only a matter of time before we see the righty in a Washington Nationals uniform. In fact, it's likely the biggest roadblock keeping Strasburg from the majors is the Nats' desire to delay his free agency eligibility, a move we've seen with plenty of other big-time prospects, from Evan Longoria to Matt Wieters.

If you're in a shallow league and Strasburg is still available, now is the time to get him. Sure, expectations will probably be way too high for a first-year pitcher, but he's got more potential to be a difference-maker than most starters you can find on the waiver wire at this point.