Washington Nationals 2017 Player Preview: Stephen Strasburg

We continue our Washington Nationals player previews for the season by looking at Stephen Strasburg

If you were to rank the most important players for the Washington Nationals to have success in 2017, Stephen Strasburg would be high on that list. All month long, we have been previewing the key players for the season. We started with outfielders Jayson Werth and Bryce Harper. Today, the focus shifts to Strasburg.

So far this spring, one of the major storylines has been Strasburg pitching exclusively from the stretch. Coming into his start today against the Marlins, he has given up eight runs in three starts. However, keep in mind that six of them came in one outing against the Cardinals back on March 8.

One thing that has been impressive about Strasburg’s spring is the fastball getting up to 97-98 miles per hour on the radar gun at times. If Strasburg is to use his slider less this season (17% of the time last year according to Fangraphs), then fastball command is going to be a key to a successful season.

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Yes, Strasburg has the fastball velocity, but his changeup was close to unhittable last season. According to Brooks Baseball, teams hit .108 against that pitch, struck out 53 times, and only had four extra-base hits (three home runs).

Before the 27-year-old went on the disabled list in late August, he was a Cy Young contender in the National League. Strasburg was undefeated in the first half of last year (12-0, 2.62 ERA) and had 132 strikeouts, which was the fifth most in the National League.

When he’s healthy (and that can be a big if sometimes), Strasburg has proven he can pitch with the best in the game. If you combine his first half stats last year with his second half numbers from 2015, a few things stand out.

Over the course of those 26 starts, he gave up three earned runs or fewer in 21 of them (13 times last season). In addition, he had 12 games in which he had ten or more strikeouts. Now, win/loss record isn’t the end all be all stat, but his record was 18-2 in those games.

Last week, co-editor Ron Juckett took a look at the predictions for the starting rotation by ZIPS, Steamer, and Fangraphs. They mostly predicted Strasburg would win 13 games and around ten strikeouts per nine inning. To me, that prediction seems low because the right-hander should be a 15-game winner at least if everything goes right.

In the first year of his $175 million contract, it’s time for Strasburg to make close to 30 starts and be at the top of the rotation. He may even get a chance to make his fourth Opening Day start of his career April 3 should Max Scherzer be unable to go because of his knuckle injury.

Next: Gio Gonzalez Silencing Doubters

As he throws only from the stretch, the Washington Nationals and their fans hope that in 2017, Strasburg is pitching well and he’s healthy down the stretch of the season and maybe into October.

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