Will Scott Boras do the right thing with baseball's next phenom?

Even if you’re just a casual baseball fan, you’ve probably heard the name Stephen Strasburg. What makes this unusual is that Strasburg doesn’t play in the Major Leagues. Not in the minors, either. Stephen Strasburg is still in college.

A junior right handed pitcher at San Diego State, Strasburg is the talk of baseball at the moment. Already the greatest baseball prospect in the history of the Mountain West Conference, he’s been labeled the best college pitching prospect EVER by several scouts, As things stand, Strasburg’s a lock to be the first pick in MLB’s June amateur draft. After dominating Santa Clara last Friday night, Strasburg is 10-0 on the season with an ERA of 1.38. He’s struck out 147 batters and walked just 15 in a modest 78 1/3 innings of work.

Of all the stats just listed, it’s the last one that has the scouts drooling the most. The low number of innings pitched means the chances of Strasburg being injured, burned out, or even just a little tired come draft day are greatly reduced when compared with some other hurlers that will be turning pro. To put this low number of innings pitched in perspective, during my senior season at Colorado State (yes, they USED to have baseball there) I pitched 100 innings in about two and a half months.

Strasburg’s head coach is baseball Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. Having one of the best hitters in baseball history as your manager has provided Strasburg with a great learning environment to be sure, and he’s taken every advantage of it. He already seems to have a mastery of the mental part of the game, to go with a fastball that can hit 100 mph…AND a wicked curveball. It’s his complete command of his delivery and his approach to hitters that’s so remarkable doe a college kid. He already has the look and feel of a big league veteran.

The Washington Nationals own the first pick in the upcoming baseball draft, and all indications are that they will do the obvious and select Strasburg. Only one small problem: Strasburg’s agent-to-be is Scott Boras.

The battles between Boras and (insert MLB team here) management are well documented. He’s reviled by most baseball execs for his ruthless negotiations. According to Wikipedia, Boras “has secured lucrative contracts for his clients that exceed what some expected them to earn. This has led critics to dub Boras “baseball’s most hated man.” His critics claim that Boras’ big money contracts hurt the game, for example, by widening the gap between rich and poor teams, and may not always be beneficial for the players he represents.

“Boras is sometimes credited with changing the dynamics of the amateur draft. He has been known to advise his clients to turn down a deal (and continue with either college ball or semi-pro ball) if the signing bonus was below an amount acceptable to them. Some teams avoid drafting Boras’ clients in baseball’s amateur draft for this reason.”

Combine Strasburg’s resume with Boras’ history and it’s easy to see a contract holdout on the horizon. The salary figures already being tossed around for Stasburg – who will still have that one year of college eligibility remaining at SDSU should he choose to return to school – are mind numbing for a player just being drafted…in the $30 - $50 million dollar range. Boras will want the moon, the sun and the stars before allowing Strasburg to sign. No, this isn’t more of the same for Boras or for baseball. Remember, unlike football and basketball, baseball players very VERY rarely sign huge money contracts and go straight to the big leagues immediately after being drafted. Safe to say that about 99.99% of those drafted get a nice signing bonus and a modest minor league salary for a few seasons before they ever get a shot at multi-millions. In normal cases, it takes at least three years of major leagues service time to earn the leverage to command a contract anywhere close to that in baseball.

Strasburg isn’t a normal case, and Boras knows it. That makes it likely that Boras will have his newest client hold out until the last possible minute before reaching any agreement with Washington, knowing the pressure will mount on the Nationals to get a deal done as the deadline to sign college underclassmen approaches. The maneuver will cost Strasburg valuable professional experience (and possibly major league service time) and create some ill will with Nationals fans. It’s a lose-lose situation.

As a former player, I can appreciate Boras’ dedication to his clients. However, in cases like this, holding Strasburg out would be the absolutely wrong thing to do. This young man has a spectacular future ahead of him. He has the look of a pitcher who will be able to stay healthy and productive for many years. He will undoubtedly earn his agent a whopping amount of money during his career…it just doesn’t have to come all at once, before he’s ever thrown a professional pitch. Here’s hoping that for once, Boras puts the best interests of everyone involved, including his young client, ahead of his need to squeeze out every last penny from the Nationals. If Boras allows Strasburg to sign shortly after the draft and start his professional career in mid-June, his big league talents could end up being displayed in D.C. before this season is over. That would be a win-win for baseball fans. 
 

(Photo of Stephen Strasburg from SDSU Sports Information)