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
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