Posted by Jason Grey
The first pitch was 99 miles per hour. That was how Washington Nationals prospect Stephen Strasburg announced his presence at the Arizona Fall League.
Strasburg worked 3 1/3 innings before hitting his pitch-count limit and was never in any trouble. Overall, he was a slight notch below what I saw in a spring outing at San Diego State, but that's understandable given he had pitched just five innings since his college season ended. He was still head and shoulders above any other pitching prospect.
As expected, Strasburg busted out the 88-91 mph changeup he rarely used as an amateur. Not only was it impressive, he used it as an out pitch in the first inning, getting both his strikeouts on changes with good tumble. He showed off a heavy two-seam fastball at 90-94 mph to go with the four-seamer, and his 82-84 mph slider was a solid 60 on the 20-80 scouting scale on this night, though I've seen it even better.
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Jason Grey
