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Stephen Strasburg is ready for The Show

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There really isn’t much to add to the Stephen Strasburg hype orchestra. He’s obviously too good to be pitching in Triple A. Working for the Syracuse Chiefs against the Rochester Red Wings on Wednesday night, he threw 6 1/3 more scoreless innings (that’s 18 1/3 scoreless at Syracuse). He allowed three hits — only one of which was well hit — and he struck out nine, and he hit 100 on the radar gun, though it was his wiffleball change-up that left the sellout crowd in Rochester gasping.

Yeah. There’s nothing much to add. He’s too good for this level. He might be too good for the next level too, but we won’t begin to know that until June 4, when he should make his big league debut for the Nationals at home against Cincinnati. That figures to be the closest thing to a playoff baseball atmosphere they have felt in Washington since the Senators of Heinie Manush lost to the Giants in the ’33 World Series.

Strasburg almost certainly won’t pitch in the big leagues until June 4 because the Nationals, understandably, don’t want him to be eligible for arbitration in two years. And they wouldn’t mind him pitching twice on that early June home stand. Of course, that’s not what the Nationals say — they might not even be allowed to say that. Instead, they will say that he still has a few things he could work on. Perhaps his walk to and from the dugout could use a little tightening up. He could improve on the tilt of his baseball cap. Something. Anything. He won’t pitch until June 4.

Full story: Stephen Strasburg is ready for The Show – Joe Posnanski – SI.com