Open Thread: Strasburg is teh awesome

Buster Olney spoke to a “longtime scout” about SDSU’s Stephen Strasburg, the consensus top talent for the 2009 Draft. The scout likes him. Like really likes him. Some quotes:

“The best I’ve ever seen,” says a longtime scout. “And it’s not even close.”

Yeah, heard he had a good fastball. Straight as a string, right? “That’s the thing,” said the scout. “Whenever you see a fastball at 100 mph, it’s always straight. No movement. But his fastball has a lot of movement, which really doesn’t make that much sense, because it’s on the hitter so quickly. His fastball cuts.”

“He’s got a plus slider, at 93-94 mph, and he’s got a plus changeup. He’s the best I’ve ever seen.”

“You could put him in a rotation right now, and he could be a No. 2 or No. 3 starter,” says the scout. “Right now, he’s better than A.J. Burnett.”

I also hear that his tears cure cancer. But seriously … take it easy, champ. Why don’t you sit this next one out, stop talking for a while.

Look, Stephen Strasburg is awesome, he’s easily the best prospect for this year’s draft and would have been last year too. But the best ever? Nope, sorry. Take Mark Prior for example. He came out of school with four plus or better pitches, outstanding command, and a superior track record at a more significant college program in a tougher conference. What happened after the fact isn’t important, Prior was a better prospect then than Strasburg is now.

Price was better as well. Top of the line fastball and slider, good changeup, excellent command, and again a better track record in the toughest conference in college baseball. Josh Beckett and Brien Taylor basically had the same skill set as Strasburg when they were drafted. And that’s just pitchers. I know it’s easy to fall in love with prospects when they start the season on such great streaks, but let’s keep things in perspective. Stephen Strasburg is not the greatest prospect ever.

Anywho, here’s your open thread for the night. The only local team in action is the new look and suddenly hot Rangers, who are down in Raleigh to take on the Hurricanes. Anything goes, just be nice.

Oh, and you haven’t voted in this week’s Fan Confidence Poll, make sure you get on it.