While many Pittsburgh Pirate fans are anxiously waiting for top pitching prospect Brad Lincoln to come up, the rest of the majors is anxiously waiting for pitching sensation Stephen Strasburg to make his debut for the Washington Nationals.
Strasburg, 21, is currently destroying minor-league hitters. Strasburg started the season with the Nationals' Double-A farm team, the Harrisburg Senators. With Harrisburg, Strasburg was ruthless. He went 3-1 with a minuscule 1.64 ERA. He only gave up 13 hits, and he got better with each start.
Evidently, it was a waste of time for the Nationals to keep Strasburg in Double-A. Strasburg was moved up to the Nationals' Triple-A club, the Syracuse Chiefs.
Strasburg has certainly not disappointed. In fact, he is pitching even better in Triple-A than he was in Double-A. Only nine hits have been recorded against him, and his ERA is a ridiculous 0.39. Of course Strasburg has not lost a game in Triple-A, going 3-0 in his short tenure with Syracuse.
Nationals' brass sent Strasburg to the minors because they claimed he had things to work on, such as pitching from the stretch and pickoffs.
Well, with the lack of runners that Strasburg is allowing, he can't really work on pitching from the stretch or picking off runners all that much.
The Nationals see that as a good thing, and they have decided to bring Strasburg up to the majors.
Strasburg's debut is scheduled for the series against the Pirates at Nationals Park on June 8-10.
The Pirates may have a prospect pitcher make a debut, also.
Lincoln is going to be brought up sooner or later. This is the season when the Pirates are going to bring up their "Big Four" prospects to the majors. The Big Four consists of Lincoln, Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez, and Jose Tabata. Walker has already been brought up. Lincoln, Alvarez, and Tabata are eagerly waiting at Triple-A Indianapolis.
Charlie Morton, who has been pitching horribly for the Pirates this season, was sent down to the minors to rehab his fatigued arm. Jeff Karstens will spot start for Morton for the time being, but Pirate fans are calling for Lincoln to be brought up.
The fastest Lincoln can be brought up is in the Nationals series, and it would be poetic if the two top prospects were to face off against each other.
Although it is unlikely that will happen, it is certainly a possibility, and baseball fans east of the Mississippi are praying for a Lincoln-Strasburg matchup.
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