The MLBs New Young Guns

Tonight is the long awaited debut of Stephen Strasburg. If you don't know who he is let me use a metaphor to describe this 21 year old kid from San Diego. Hit the jump.

The Washington Nationals and their fans represent Religion. Stephen Strasburg represents their God. He is their savior with a 100 MPH fastball, a deadly curveball, and a fantastic change-up. He was called the "most-hyped pick in draft history" by ESPN and the "most hyped and closely watched pitching prospect in the history of baseball" by Sports Illustrated. The Nats picked him with the first overall pick in last year's 2009 MLB Draft. Since then he's pitched in the AA and AAA level with an overall record of 7–2, an ERA of 1.30, 65 strikeouts, 13 walks, and a WHIP of 0.80 in 55⅓ innings. 


The Nats have made it easy on him by making is first start against the Pirates. Yes, the Pittsburgh Pirates a.k.a. the AAA team of the MLB. I can't wait until next week when Strasburg makes his first real MLB start. Three years of hype have led up to this day but if you want even more hype...


17 year old Bryce Harper is your man, or boy, or man-boy. Since age 13 he has been followed by sports media hyping up his career. He was the best highschool player in Nevada his Freshman and Sophomore year, and at age 16 he earned his GED so he could graduate from school early and move on to college for "tougher competition." 


During his stint against the "competition" he's played in 66 games, hit 31 home runs, 98 RBIs, while batting .443 with a .526 Slugging % and a .987 On Base %. His 31 homers is a College of Southern Nevada school record. The old record was only 11 home runs. Oh, and he did it using a wooden bat while everyone else uses aluminum. 

That picture is from a scouting day he had when he was 16 and finishing high school. He hit home runs over 550 feet and pitched fastballs at 95 MPH. He has a cannon of an arm and played catcher his whole life, but the Nationals want him to play outfield to prolong his career. Yes, the Nationals also have Harper. They drafted him last night with the first overall pick of the 2010 MLB Draft. If these guys pan out the Nats could be on the verge of something great.