Pitching prospects are rising in Arizona

Getting hammered in his second Arizona Fall League start may have been the best thing that ever happened to Stephen Strasburg.

The No. 1 pick of the 2009 draft and the linchpin of the Plan got beat like a drum on Oct. 22, giving up eight runs and seven hits in 2 2/3 innings. His ERA before the game: 0.00. His ERA after the game: 23.62.

"He took it personal," said Paul Menhart, the pitching coach at Class A Potomac and the Nationals' representative on the Phoenix Desert Dogs. "I don't think he liked that very much. You hate to ever see anybody give up that many runs, but I believe it got his focus where he needed it to be. He's had an unbelievable bulldog attitude ever since."

Indeed, Strasburg won his next two starts, giving up a combined five hits and two runs, striking out 11 and walking three. That earned him a starting job in Saturday's Rising Stars Showcase game -- until he was scratched Friday afternoon because of a strained neck muscle. The game will be televised this year for the first time -- surely due to Strasburg -- by the MLB Network (8:15 p.m. ) and will also be available on http://www.mlb.com.

Ah, well. Now Nats Nation and the baseball world in general will have to wait a little longer to see whether the 21-year-old right-hander out of San Diego State can possibly live up to all the hype. However, one man is already convinced: Roy Clark, the Nats' new vice president of player personnel.

Clark saw Strasburg's most recent start, a 10-2 victory over the Surprise Rafters this past Monday. Strasburg threw 68 pitches, 43 for strikes, with six strikeouts -- all swinging -- and a walk in five innings.

"He was outstanding," Clark said. "I have seen him since he was a junior in high school. Never have I seen him throw better. He hit 101 [mph] many times; he was mostly in the 99 range.

"He always had a sharp breaking ball, but I'd never seen him throw a change-up before. It was devastating. It is a well above-average pitch. It was 92-93 mph and unhittable. He was very, very good. Like most young guys he's still got to work on the strike zone, keeping the ball down, but he's not far away at all."

A scout for an American League team was less effusive, as scouts are wont to be, but liked what he saw: "He threw a fastball-curveball-change-up; he didn't throw any sliders. He has a hard curve, 82, 83 miles an hour. I'm told his slider is a lot harder.

"His command wasn't the greatest, but it was pretty good. His stuff was definitely good, above-average-type stuff. It looks like he's going to be a pretty good pitcher."

(In fairness, he also said: "Scouts are wrong 97 percent of the time. It's the only job in America where you can get away with that." Although I can think of a few financial geniuses with worse results.)

Clark might be the Nats' good-luck charm. In the Monday win, first baseman Chris Marrero had five RBI. Shortstop Danny Espinosa scored three runs. Middle reliever Josh Wilkie added a scoreless inning with a strikeout. Jeff Mandel, making the switch from starter to reliever, gave up a run but not the lead.