The Nats hope Strasburg will help fill some seats. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
It appears that the Washington Nationals are set to take RHP Stephen Strasburg from San Diego State with the first pick in the 2009 MLB draft, sources tell SportsIllustrated.com.
Strasburg had long been expected to be the top pick, with the contract being the only remaining sticking point. Scott Boras is advising Strasburg and is asking for an intial contract thought to be in the $50 million range.
Strasburg is on the Golden Spikes Award watch list and is 10-0 so far this season with a 1.38 ERA and 147 strikeouts. He has helped the Aztecs to a 31-18 record and are currently a game and a half behind TCU for first place in the Mountain West Conference.
With the Nationals on pace for another season of 100 or more losses, it is highly unlikely that the Nats will trade the pick and pick another of the less certain players available after Strasburg. So look for a deal to be in place by the end of this month.
This year's draft will be held June 9-11 in Secaucus, New Jersey, where MLB Network will televise the first day of the draft from its own Studio 42.
2009 Draft 1st round order
1. Washington Nationals
2. Seattle Mariners
3. San Diego Padres
4. Pittsburgh Pirates
5. Baltimore Orioles
6. San Francisco Giants
7. Atlanta Braves
8. Cincinnati Reds
9. Detroit Tigers
10. Washington Nationals (for A. Crow)
11. Colorado Rockies
12. Kansas City Royals
13. Oakland Athletics
14. Texas Rangers
15. Cleveland Indians
16. Arizona Diamondbacks
17. Arizona Diamondbacks (from LAD)
18. Florida Marlins
19. St. Louis Cardinals
20. Toronto Blue Jays
21. Houston Astros
22. Minnesota Twins
23. Chicago White Sox
24. Los Angeles Angels (from NYM)
25. Los Angeles Angels (from NYY)
26. Milwaukee Brewers
27. Seattle Mariners (from PHI)
28. Boston Red Sox
29. New York Yankees (for G. Cole)
30. Tampa Bay Rays
31. Chicago Cubs
32. Colorado Rockies (from LAA)
Comments
Good article. Knowing the Nationals we will probably find some way to mess this up and not sign this guy.
And I'm sure this surprises no one! Strasburg is a really good guy, I've interviewed him a few times and I think he'll be great wherever he goes. But he's very big on being a team-first guy, and I'm wondering how he'll handle all the other bonus babies and their bloated egos/paychecks.
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