Nationals Lose 102nd Game, Win No. 1 Draft Pick

Stephen Strasburg Might Be the Consolation for Worst Season in DC

Sep 29, 2008

Since June, Nationals' fans have been focused on getting the #1 pick in the 2009 First Year Player Draft, with the hope of landing the top college pitcher in the nation.

According to Baseball America -- and just about everyone else -- that would be 20-year-old Stephen Strasburg. How good is he? Well, he was the lone collegian on an Olympic team stocked with AAA veterans that won the Bronze medal in Beijing. Strasburg features an upper-90s fastball and an above-average slider, both of which he used to strike out 23 batters this past April as a sophomore pitching for San Diego State.

Naturally, this has caught the attention of scouts, who compare him to Dwight Gooden in terms of having unhittable stuff at such a young age (Gooden, for example, struck out 300 batters as an 18-year-old in one and only minor-league season). At 6'4" and 220 lbs, Strasburg has the classic build of a righthanded power pitcher, such as Roger Clemens, Kerry Wood, or Jonathan Papelbon.

Strasburg has also captured the imagination of fans of losing ballclubs, like the San Diego Padres, the Seattle Mariners and the Washington Nationals. His performance in the Olympics this only further cemented his status as the presumptive #1 pick in 2009, as the phenom posted a 1.64 ERA and struck out 16 batters in his two appearances.

After the Olympics, it became a perverse exercise for the fans of these three teams -- rooting for the futility to continue, as it became evident that a 100-loss season was both possible and probable. One fan site began keeping tabs on the "race" by giving daily updates on the "tragic number" -- the combination of losses by the Nationals and wins by the Mariners and Padres that would ensure the worst record at the season's end.

This is completely opposite of the "magic number" that's used to track how teams clinch a postseason berth. Like the playoffs, the fate of the team that would "win" by losing was not decided until the last day of the season, and the Nationals got the (dis)honor by falling to the Phillies 8-3, the 102nd loss of the season.

What's now to be debated in the Greater DC area, at least among the few fans that aren't completely switched over to region's obsession with the Washington Redskins, is whether or not Strasburg is indeed worth the top pick. After failing to sign its first-round pick this year, the Washington Nationals have the 10th pick overall as well, enabling the option of passing on Strasburg (and Boras) at #1 in favor of choosing a hitter and using the 10th pick for a pitcher.

This is not unprecedented. Just a few years ago, the Twins passed on the top-rated pitcher, Mark Prior, and selected a catcher instead. Granted, it looks great in retrospect, as Mauer has won two batting titles and Prior has battled injuries, but a look at the pitchers that have been drafted #1 overall shows a much spottier record than hitters taken #1.

The Last 10 Hitters Taken #1 Overall

The Last 10 Pitchers Taken #1 Overall

The Nationals have "won" the chance to pick #1 overall next year, but now the real test is to see how well they use this opportunity. Stephen Strasburg could be the next Tim Lincecum, but he could also be the next Mark Prior. But for the fans of the Nationals, not to mention its owners and executive, the chance to land the very best prospect -- pitcher or not -- is what will be on their minds from now until next June.

The copyright of the article Nationals Lose 102nd Game, Win No. 1 Draft Pick in Major League Baseball is owned by Luke Erickson. Permission to republish Nationals Lose 102nd Game, Win No. 1 Draft Pick in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.