Stephen Strasburg is coming to Seattle this weekend with the Washington Nationals to face the Seattle Mariners in a rare interleague game.
One of the intriguing storylines of this series is that the top two selections from the 2009 draft will be competing against each other. The Nationals selected Strasburg with the first pick of the draft and Dustin Ackley was selected second by the Mariners.
Strasburg was a once-in-a-generation pitcher out of San Diego State. The 6’4 right-handed flame-thrower was getting a lot of national publicity and was a sure lock to be selected first. A pitcher like Strasburg could anchor a rotation for a decade.
In any other year, other than 2009, Dustin Ackley would have been picked first. The 6’1 two time All-American was a can’t-miss prospect who made good contact and could hit the ball to all fields. The former North Carolina Tar Heel was projected as a perennial All-Star and was compared to Chase Utley.
In late September 2008, months after both teams played their last meaningful game, the Mariners and the Nationals were in a race for the worst record. A Stephen Strasburg Sweepstakes.
Heading into the final series of the season, the Mariners had a one game lead for the top pick with a 58-101 record, while the Nationals were 59-99. All the Mariners had to do was continue losing — like they’d done all year. With September call-ups from the minors this could have easily been accomplished.
However, Mariners’ shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt had other things in mind. He waited until the last series of the year to hit. He single-handedly beat the Oakland Athletics with multi-hit games and won the last game of the year with a two run triple. As a result, the last-place Mariners swept the A’s.
The Mariners couldn’t even lose right. They won a meaningless game and missed out on Strasburg and drafted Ackley second the following year.
Strasburg signed a record-breaking four year, $15.1 million dollar contract and was fast-tracked to the majors. On June 8, 2010 he made his league debut and struck out 14 batters. Two months later he was shut down and placed on the disabled list with ulnar collateral ligament damage in his elbow. He missed the better part of the following year and made 6 starts in 2011.
Since recovery, Strasburg has been good but not great. He has yet to break the 200 innings pitch mark and has a career record of 39-29 with a 3.14 ERA. Pitching with a surgically repaired elbow is not good for a hard throwing 26 year old.
Meanwhile, Ackley has had his own struggles. He played a year in the minors and was called up from Tacoma on June 17, 2011. He finished his rookie season batting .271, with 7HR’s. In 2012, Ackley spent the season split between Tacoma and Seattle. He finished with a .226 average and 12 HR’s — not good. Last year, Ackley was sent to Tacoma to improve his poor hitting and to learn to play outfield.
Up until this year’s All-Star Break it would be safe to say that Ackley has been a disappointment or that the expectations were too great. 2014 was a make or break year for him. Currently he has a .256 average with 9HR’s 55 RBI’s and a lot of two out RBI’s. He started off slow but has been one of the most consistent hitters in the line-up especially after the All-Star break.
So the question is: If you could turn back the hands of time and lose those the last three games in 2008 and select Strasburg — would you? I don’t think I would. Ackley is finally hitting his groove and the Mariners are pitching filthy rich. He’s shown us a glimpse of the player that we drafted.
If Strasburg were a Mariner, he’d be our #4 pitcher, possibly #5, behind Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, Chris Young and Jim Paxton. Comparing Young and Strasburg this year, Young is having a better season with a 12-6 record, 3.17 ERA 1.16 WHIP compared to Strasburg at a 10-10 record 3.59 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP.
On Saturday, Strasburg will be taking the mound and all eyes will be on the Strasburg / Ackley matchup, like it was in the 2009 draft.
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