Speed demon cools the heat

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Stephen Strasburg waves to fans after hitting his first career home run last month against the Baltimore Orioles in Washington, D.C. (MANUEL BALCE CENETA / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES)

TORONTO -- Stephen Strasburg is slowing down.

Not that you would notice, based on his dazzling performance this season. After all, his fastball, on average, travels 96 miles an hour. His change-up? A mere 89.

But Strasburg, the Washington Nationals phenom, happily admits he does not throw as hard as he did in his rookie season of 2010. It has nothing to do with the reconstructive elbow surgery that forced him to miss the end of that season and almost all of 2011.

"I think I'm past the point of trying to throw harder and harder," said Strasburg. "I'm slowly starting to realize that you don't need to throw 100 every time to be successful."

Of course, few pitchers even possess that option. But when he reached the majors as perhaps the brightest pitching prospect of his generation, Strasburg kept fans' eyes glued to the radar readings.

In his major-league debut, 34 of his pitches hit 98 miles an hour. Two reached 100. Over his rookie season, his fastball averaged 97.3 and he hit 99 or higher 51 times.

He kept it up, game after game, generating headline upon headline. It was an astonishing pace. It was also superfluous, says Nationals manager Davey Johnson.

"When you're the No. 1 pick in the country, you come up the first time and face a big-league club and strike out 14, the tendency is to try and play up to your press clippings," Johnson said.

"I had him before he was drafted No. 1, at the Olympics, and he was just a great pitcher with great stuff. He had great command, he stayed on the knees, he didn't overthrow, stayed within himself. He actually pitched at the mid-90s, and that's enough."

Mind you, he is still pitching in the mid-90s. This season, roughly half his pitches have topped 95. But there is much more to his 8-1 record and 2.45 ERA than a blazing fastball.

Here is Strasburg's own summary of his repertoire.

"I'll throw a four-seamer (the fastest fastball) that has a little bit of run," he said. "I'll throw a sinker that has a little bit more run. I'll throw a change-up that has more run and drop. Then I'll have a breaking ball that, if I really get on it, it's more like a slider, and if I take a little bit off, it's more like a big breaking ball."

He said it without a hint of conceit. Opposing batters can testify he is not embellishing.

But with all that, Strasburg is not invincible. He has worked seven innings in only three of his 13 starts. In his lone loss, the San Diego Padres knocked him out after four innings and four runs. He won a game in which he surrendered four runs in five innings to Atlanta.

But he is also leading the National League in strikeouts, with 100 in 77 innings. In his second-last start, when he struck out 13 Boston Red Sox, many of his swinging strikes darted so swiftly and sharply that batters did not come close.

Although the uproar surrounding his debut season has waned, he still creates a buzz before -- and often after -- every start.

"I like it," he said. "It's fun and you can tell it gets a lot of the guys in the clubhouse here a little bit more excited for the games, too."

The Nationals have other reasons for excitement these days. They lead their division. They boast the best pitching staff in the majors. They have another rising star in Bryce Harper, who, remarkably, is thriving as a rookie hitter at 19 in much the way Strasburg did as a rookie pitcher at 21.

Strasburg enjoyed his first spring training in the majors this year and is bidding to finish his first full season. The Nationals say they may limit his innings in deference to his recent surgery, a goal that might change if the team continues its drive toward the post-season.

For Strasburg, who has started only 34 big-league games, this is a season of transition.

"I feel like I've got a lot to learn," he said. "I wouldn't say I feel like a rookie. I feel like I've developed relationships with a lot of the guys here and I think they've accepted me in the clubhouse. Even some of the guys that are rookies kind of look to me to see how to conduct yourself and try to be a leader in the clubhouse."

He says he is learning from watching the likes of Detroit's Justin Verlander and Toronto's Brandon Morrow, who demonstrate the benefits of dialling back velocity and focusing on command.

"When I first came up here, I was trying to throw it as hard as I can every time. I'm slowly starting to realize that it doesn't matter how hard you throw it, if you can't locate it, it's going to get hit a long way."

Still, it helps to have a 100-mile-an-hour heater in reserve.

"It's definitely nice to go to that when you need it," he said with a small smile. "But you don't need to show it every time."

-- Postmedia News

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 17, 2012 A1