Stephen Strasburg had an intriguing career that set the precedent for managing pitcher's arms in the modern era. He was the First Overall Pick in 2009 and debuted for the Nationals the following year, in what was arguably the most highly anticipated pitching debut by an American player. However, he only appeared in 17 games in his first two years as he underwent Tommy John Surgery. Despite this, he was effective in his limited work and showed what he was capable of.

In 2012, the Nationals made it known that they would be monitoring Strasburg’s innings. He went on to be an All-Star that year, going 15-6 with 197 strikeouts. It could have been a lot more, but Washington shut him down on September 12, including the playoffs, where the Nats were eliminated in the Divisional Round. Strasburg had a decent 2013 (8-9, 191 SO, 3.00 ERA) and 2014, he was ninth in Cy Young voting and led the National League in strikeouts with 242.

Strasburg continued to show why he was worth the investment, and he was an All-Star again in 2016 and 2017, with the latter being the better season. He led the NL in FIP (2.72), had a career-low ERA (2.52), and was third in Cy Young voting. After another solid season, Strasburg went 18-6, fanned 251 batters, and was fifth in Cy Young balloting. Even better, Strasburg led the Nationals to their first World Series win, going 5-0 in the playoffs, including two wins in the Fall Classic, where he was named the World Series MVP. He signed what was then the largest contract for a pitcher (7 years/$245 million), but disaster was about to strike.

Strasburg succumbed to a nerve issue in his pitching hand that held him to only three batters in 2020. Diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome, Strasburg managed only 21.2 innings in 2021. It was even worse for Strasburg, who had to be shut down after one game, and he never pitched again.

As promising as his talents were, Strasburg was a hell of a talent when he was healthy, but sometimes it is not meant to be.

In the last fifty years, Stephen Strasburg was about as highly prized a pitching prospect as there was.  Strasburg has famously had his pitch count watched (even keeping him out of the 2012 Playoffs) after coming off of rehab of Tommy John surgery and the overall protection of the former number one draft pick might be the most of any player in baseball history.

The perceived coddling has paid off as Strasburg has represented Washington in three All-Star Games and was a second runner-up for the National League Cy Young (losing to his teammate, Max Scherzer) in 2017 where he was the league leader in FIP.  To date, he has given the Nationals five 15 Win seasons, and last season he set a career-high of 18 Wins, which was enough to lead the American League.  Strasburg would take the Nationals all the way to a World Series Championship, and he won five games in the post-season while also securing the World Series MVP.   He had not pitched much due to injuries over the last two years, but we would not bet against him.

It sounds like the Nationals had it right all along!