Mike Rizzo’s main mantra with the Washington Nationals has always been consistent, “Pitching is King.” That’s one reason why there have been several eyes fixed on Stephen Strasburg during Spring Training so far.
The right-hander is coming off of one of his worst seasons as a pro where he went 10-7 with a 3.74 ERA. But perhaps most notably, he suffered from diminished velocity at the end of last season after he returned from a cervical nerve impingement.
In his last eight starts, his fastball averaged just 93.3mph while his slider sat at 86.