Is Strasburg the new Mark Prior?
For the second time this season pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg will be headed to the DL with an arm injury. Mike Rizzo the Nats GM said another MRI will be taken because the first "showed some stuff". All Nationals fans have got to be holding their breath. Ever since Strasburg was drafted by the Nationals fans and all of major league baseball has been told how great this kid will be. I bring up Mark Prior because there was the same kind of hype, in fact Prior signed the largest deal for a draft pick until 2009, ironically it was Strasburg's deal that broke it. Prior was billed as can't miss and many believed he would be a number one pitcher for most of his career. When Prior started it was hard to argue he wouldn't. In his first full season Prior went 18-6 with an ERA of 2.43 and 245 strikeouts, as he helped the Cubs get to within 1 game of going to the World Series. After 2003 it all went down hill and the injuries started to pile up. Every year after 2003 Prior had at least 1 injury per season most were involving his throwing shoulder. Things has gotten so bad for Prior that he now pitches in the Independent League for the Orange County Flyers. For someone who at the time signed the biggest rookie contract to be in the Independent League before the age of 30 is a huge drop-off. Now I am not saying that Strasburg is headed towards the same fate, but you can't like the signs that are being shown. No matter what Strasburg's second MRI says the Nationals MUST shut Strasburg down for the rest of the season. The Nationals are currently in last place and are not going to compete for anything this season. To risk bringing him back to sell a few more tickets is not in the best interest of Strasburg or the Nats fans. Strasburg has been absolutely amazing in his first season and nobody wants to see him get hurt or see his career go on the same path as Prior. Strasburg has the stuff to be an ace for a long time, but if the injuries continue it will have us all wondering what if.
