It may be only a few months into the baseball season, but some young players are already starting to become household names. Whether they play in the outfield, behind the plate, or on the mound they’re making an impact in their early careers.
Stephen Strasburg, the most hyped pitcher in recent memory, has played better than expected.
In his major league debut, Strasburg tied the Nationals franchise by record, fanning 14 batters in seven innings without walking a single batter. Now that’s how to start your career.
In only three starts, Strasburg has a 2-0 record with 32 K’s and a mere five walks. In 19.1 innings, he’s given up only 10 hits and has a 1.86 ERA.
Strasburg has already made a case to be an All-Star selection, and with stats like those, how can you disagree.
His fastball can clock at over 100 miles per hour, and his curve ball can drop eight inches at times. His circle change is also a deadly pitch that can reach 90 miles per hour. With pitches like that, it’s hard to image anyone can get a hit off this guy.
It’s obvious Strasburg has a bright future ahead of him, and I have a feeling we will see him become one of the most elite pitchers in the game. We can only image what’s to come from this 21-year-old phenom.
Jason Heyward, the Spring Training break-out right fielder, started his MLB career with a homer and hasn’t let up.
He’s batting .263 with 11 homers and 44 RBI’s, not to mention coming through in a few crucial moments this season.
When runners are in scoring position with two outs, Heyward is batting .353 with 14 RBI’s off of 12 hits. Also, with the bases loaded Heyward is 4-12 with nine RBI’s.
Can you say clutch?
Twenty-six of Heyward’s 62 hits have resulted in extra bases and you can tell the Braves are happy with his production. Heyward seems to be a future star in the MLB.
Florida’s recent call-up, Mike Stanton, is already making an impact. The right fielder, like Heyward, has only played in 10 games, but contributed eight RBI’s off of nine hits.
Golden_State_of_Mind is a Jabberhead and an SJ contributing author
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