| 21 July 2010
He's more than lived up to the hype and Reds fans will get to see him up close tonight.
Washington Nationals rookie phenom Stephen Strasburg will make his ninth career start at Great American BallPark this evening as Cincinnati looks for its third straight win (and perhaps a return to first place if the Cardinals lose tonight).
Strasburg, 22, was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2009 draft and he's one of the few athletes that has been able to exceeded the lofty expectations that were placed on him before he ever threw a pitch in professional baseball. Thus far, he is 4-2 with a 2.03 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. In 48.2 innings, he has 68 strikeouts, while giving up just 36 hits and 14 walks. Evander Holyfield refers to him as the real deal.
Strasburg has a fastball that tops 100 MPH and he will face Bronson Arroyo who has a heater that reaches about 89 on a good day. However, the rubber-armed Arroyo has been rock solid for the Reds all season. Fans are used to seeing him make every start and eat up innings (over 200 every year), but he's also on his way to a career year at his current pace. Arroyo is 10-4 with a 3.96 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. So far, his career year was his first season with the Reds in 2006 when he was 14-11 with a 3.29 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Obviously, his record should have been better that year, but he didn't get the run support. Arroyo certainly won't approach an ERA in the low 3's this year, but if he can win 17 games and keep his ERA under 4, we're going to look back on this as his career year most likely.
But all eyes will be on Strasburg tonight as the best offense in the National League tries to do some damage against the cannon-armed righty.
The Reds desperately need Scott Rolen back - not just for his offense, but most-importantly for his defense - but it doesn't sound like he'll be ready for this one.
But hey, at least Edinson Volquez is back and looks as good or better than ever. I'm shocked by this. I didn't think we'd see the "real" Volquez until the 2011 season.
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