All right, we at CBSSports.com give. We are ready to break from our norms that players eligible for the upcoming June draft are not added to our database until they are at least drafted, if not signed.
We have yet to have a good reason to add a player to the database before he was drafted. We wince at adding potential Japanese signees every October, because what good is it to get your mouth watered for food you might not get your fork into?
Stephen Strasburg is a worthy exception.
He is an exception to so many rules, mainly this writer's belief(s):
- Amateur draftees don't warrant Fantasy attention until at least next spring.
- Pitching prospects are great ... three years from now.
- Young pitchers on bad teams are potential busts.
We now agree, our site is better off having this important prospect appear in our leagues. We would be remiss -- and not serving our users -- not having him. (For a recommendation on how your league should deal with his rights, see the first Q&A answer below.)
Strasburg, armed with his well-chronicled 100-plus mph stuff, is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in baseball's 2009 First-Year Player Draft on June 9. The Nationals are expected to take him, even though Scott Boras is his agent and expected to ask for something short of the sun.
If Stasburg's name sounds familiar in this space, he was the arm Team USA manager Davy Johnson picked over Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson to start the gold medal qualifier against Cuba. That is Ben Sheets stuff right there. Strasburg couldn't lead Team USA to victory, but he was impressive enough to set up a huge year of June 2009 draft hype. (Check out the August 2008 story here.)
But don't take our word for it. Take it from Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, who happens to be his college manager.
"It is pretty amazing watching a 20-year-old, throw a ball -- with location, with downward plane, with a little bit of movement -- 100 mph," Gwynn said.
Strasburg struck out 133 batters, a San Diego State record, to just 16 walks in 97 1/3 innings as a sophomore last year. The strikeouts were good for second in the nation.
Now throw out that record, because the 20-year-old Strasburg already has 164 strikeouts in 87 1/3 innings to 17 walks this season. For the season, he is 11-0 with a 1.24 ERA, allowing just 13 total runs.
His last start? He pitched his first collegiate no-hitter, blanking Air Force on 17 strikeouts May 8.
Aztecs pitching coach Rusty Filter told Baseball America correspondent John Maffei that Strasburg ran his fastball up to 101 mph twice in the 117-pitch outing, and he reached 98 twice in the ninth. That's the ninth inning, folks. There are hardly a handful of major league arms with that kind of late life.
"I was giving it everything I had left at the end," Strasburg said.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder once struck out 23 in a game and has reportedly hit 102 on the radar gun. No wonder Johnson picked him in Team USA's most crucial game in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
If you thought David Price was a bad, uh, dude -- Strasburg might be even better. Heck, scouts believe he can pitch in the major leagues this season. If Cahill and Anderson can, why not Strasburg?
OK, stop saying "innings limit" dream killers. It is OK to dream big, especially if you have this guy stashed and you want to offer him around for immediate help once the hype hits the mainstream in June.
The problem with stashing Strasburg on CBSSports.com right now is you cannot assign him to the minors in leagues that have those roster designations. He is not signed, similar to Sheets. He sucks up a regular reserve spot even in long-term keeper leagues.
Strasburg was picked -- and still owned -- in the mixed league of the "Tout Wars" (not by this guy). Even if he gets picked No. 1 overall June 9, it is hard to imagine Boras, Strasburg and the Nationals coming to a quick agreement on a contract. That might not come before August. If it takes that long, forget about the Nationals ushering him to the major leagues to a team that could lose 100 games.
But, we give. Enough CBSSports.com readers have asked for us to add him. So, there he is. Can't wait to see him next spring.
Prospect watch
Every week we break down all the minor leaguers who are owned in at least 1 percent of our Fantasy leagues. This will be your essential guide to unearthing the elite prospects before they hit the big time.
Rookie watch
Top AL rookies to date
- Matt Palmer, SP, LAA -- Journeyman is off to a 4-0, 3.38 start with a .168 batting-average against.
- Andrew Bailey, RP, OAK -- He already has three wins, a save and now might take over as closer.
- Jeff Larish, 1B, DET -- He has four homers and just five RBI, but he is earning more at-bats.
- Travis Snider, OF, TOR -- He is the best talent on this list, but he has struggled of late.
- Rick Porcello, SP, DET -- He has lowered his ERA and batting-average against nicely lately.
- Honorable mentions: Scott Richmond, SP, TOR; Elvis Andrus, SS, TEX; Koji Uehara, SP, BAL; Trevor Cahill, SP, OAK; Chris Getz, 2B, CHW; Jayson Nix, 2B, CHW; Ryan Perry, RP, DET; and Brett Gardner, OF, NYY.
Top NL rookies to date
- Shairon Martis, SP, WAS -- His rotation mate gets all the hype, but Martis is now 5-0!
- Dexter Fowler, OF, SF -- He is pace for 50 steals, but that is buoyed by that five-steal game.
- Micah Hoffpauir, OF, CHC -- He is earning his at-bats, despite the veteran options the Cubs have.
- Adam Rosales, 3B, CIN -- He is so hot, we might consider Edwin Encarnacion being Wally Pipp'd.
- Jordan Zimmermann, SP, WAS -- He is getting overshadowed by Martis, but Z-man will get hot.
- Honorable mentions: Brian Barden, 3B, STL; Colby Rasmus, OF, STL; Juan Gutierrez, RP, ARI; J.A. Happ, RP, PHI; Danny Herrera, RP, CIN; Omir Santos, C, NYM; Randy Wells, SP, CHC and Joe Thurston, 2B, STL.
Talking prospects
Mark Stephens: When does the CBS Free Agents List get updated with all the new draft picks from the upcoming draft and are they immediately available or do they have a waiver time? Obviously they would be placed in the minor league system initially, but my league allows for minor league players to be stashed.
Emack: CBSSports.com's database adds many of the first-round picks in the days after the draft. Stay tuned here for those additions. Other draftees would have to be added on a case-by-case basis. If there is a clamoring for them, we add them. We cannot add every prospect toiling in Class A, but the important ones we want to make available to serve our users. Frankly, your league should set up a policy to draft these new additions as opposed to merely subjecting them to waivers or making them free additions, initially. We understand timing can be everything in some leagues, so in cases like Strasburg, your commissioner should set up a policy to handle these guys.
Tom Dignan, Oak Lawn, Ill.: Should I drop Ricky Nolasco for Tommy Hanson or David Price, both of whom are free agents in my league? My current starting rotation is pretty deep with A.J. Burnett, Felix Hernandez, Jake Peavy, Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto and Ted Lilly. I would like to pick up Hanson just for the potential, as well as to keep him off of one of my opponent's rosters, but I don't want Nolasco to repeat the second half he did last year on someone else's team.
Emack: Hanson has the potential to outperform Nolasco here on out, but unless Hanson is getting called up this weekend, give Nolasco another chance to prove worthy through his two starts in Fantasy Week 7 (May 18-24). When we say give him a chance, we mean keep him stashed. He is too dangerous to start right now.
Jason Rosenhamburger: When will CBS Fantasy Baseball add Stephen Strasburg to the waiver wire? The Washington Nationals have already made up their mind picking him as the first pick in the draft next month. He has been touted as the best pitcher that has ever played the game with 187 stirkeouts in just 87.1 innings and on top of that, his 103 mph fastball. I would be so shocked if the Nationals keep him in the minor leagues to adapt to the professional level. This kid is a phemon, the LeBron of baseball. Dude is untocuhable, I mean, unhittable. Minor league? No shot trot, I'd have him start for my major league team the day after the draft and I bet Mike Rizzo isn't as crazy as I am. I can't wait to see this kid.
Emack: Uh huh.
Derek: If Nolan Reimold is the real deal, why is he unranked in major scouting publications and why is he still in the minors at 25?
Emack: Not all players develop at the same rate. Reimold has always been a solid power prospect in our view.
You can e-mail us your Fantasy Baseball prospect questions to DMFantasyBaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Prospects in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. Be aware, due to the large volume of submissions received, we cannot guarantee personal responses to all questions.
