Stephen Strasburg's Prospect Profile: Is He for Real?

Not since the likes of Dwight Gooden, Mark Prior, and even Felix Hernandez has a prospect arrived with as much hype as Stephen Strasburg.   At 6'4", 220 pounds, the SD State phenom boasts some of the most impressive statistics from a college player in recent history. Take his 23-strikeout performance in 2008, or how about the fact that in 2009 he struck out 88 batters in just over 42 innings generating into an 18.7 K/9 IP for the year. Now how a pitcher produces in college means very little in how much impact he will make in the big leagues, but there is a lot to like here.     Fastball Velocity   For starters, Strasburg’s fastball routinely reaches triple digits while topping out on occasion at 102 mph. What makes Strasburg’s fastball so devastating is the notable amount of movement he gets on such a pitch with late sink. As if it wasn’t hard enough for hitters to hit 100 mph fastballs. Unlike Tim Lincecum, who has to use maximum effo...