Stephen Strasburg

According to legend, when he was 15-years old, Bryce Harper bombed a home run that went over the right field fence, two trees, a second fence, a sidewalk, crossed five lanes of traffic, a second sidewalk, and landed in the middle of a deserted area in the Nevada desert. The shot was estimated to have landed some 570-feet away from home plate.

Every team wants one, he's more important than a power hitter, a shut down closer, or a super utility man.  Every team wants a young No.1 starter at or under the age of 26; a young superstar pitcher you can build your team around, one less spot in the rotation that you have to worry about.

You hold on to these pitchers like your life depends on it, and you overprotect that arm like you overprotect your child.  Because your entire franchise is on that throwing arm, and everybody knows that throwing arms are made out of glass.

If the good Lord picked one weather day to represent spring training for every baseball team spread out over Florida and Arizona, he would have chosen today.

With clear blue skies and temperatures hovering around 80 degrees, the Washington Nationals picked up the pace on the fourth day of workouts for pitchers and catchers.

Yesterday’s big story was no doubt Stephen Strasburg's pain free throwing session.

If you have been following the Washington Nationals’ offseason, you are aware that the team has now entered Phase Two.

Coming to fans everywhere, the latest installment of Washington D.C. baseball...National Treasures: The Missing Strasburg. Starring the D-list celebrities of the fantasy baseball world: Livan “National League Harlot” Hernandez, Jordan “Not That Zimmerman” Zimmermann, and featuring Jason Marquis and John Lannan as trusty sidekicks.

Looking back at last year’s chapter of National Treasures, it seems like not many will buy into the 2011 version. 

This new decade of ours is only one baseball season old, but baseball fans have already seen the future in some respects. Buster Posey, Jason Heyward, Starlin Castro, Mike Stanton and Stephen Strasburg each had huge rookie seasons, and they are not alone. Meanwhile, Albert Pujols shows no signs of slowing down as he enters his second decade of dominance over the league. Nor are CC Sabathia or Joe Mauer done building their Cooperstown cases.

There is nothing more intimidating for a hitter than being started down by a power pitcher who can blow a fastball right by them. Fans also get excited as these pitchers light up the radar gun and rack up the strikeouts.

The rankings on this list will be determined a combination of the pitchers' talents, stats, and their ability to bring the heat.

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Initially, when hearing a productive and established player such as Jayson Werth signed with the Washington Nationals, it was bewildering.

Despite a flurry of movement at baseball's winter meetings, free agent pitcher Cliff Lee remains unsigned.

But that doesn't mean he hasn't been fielding offers.

According to reports, both the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers are bidding aggressively for the ace and an agreement may soon be reached. However, with some of the contracts that are being handed out (Jayson Werth - seven years/$126 million, Carl Crawford - $142 million), the price for the 31-year-old left-hander has become astronomical.

Yesterday, conjecture became reality.

After months of speculation that Jayson Werth would leave the Phillies when his contract expired, it became official when the Washington Nationals signed him to a mega-deal.