Deb from Warrenton, Va -

As a Washington Nationals fan, I'm very excited about Stephen Strasburg
joining the team in early June.  It has been reported that the Nationals will
shut down Strasburg for the season after he reaches a certain number of
innings pitched.  If the Nationals are still in contention when Strasburg
reaches that limit, do you think that they will follow through with
their plans?

To answer your question…Yes, I think the Nationals will stick with their original plan for Strasburg, but there are some ways to modify it. For one, we need to look at how many innings Strasburg threw last season. He threw 109 in college, 5 in instructional league, and 19 in the Arizona Fall League for a total of 133. Now his path was a bit different since he was shut down from when his college season ended at the end of May until he signed in August. That sort of lay off is why his innings are down, since he was building his arm back up. Since this season he won’t be ‘shut down’ for a 2 1/2 month hiatus, Strasburg could probably even do more innings if the Nationals chose so. Usually you try not to add more than 25-30 innings to a pitchers workload from one season to the next. Given Strasburg’s work load last season that would pretty much peg him for 160 innings this year (give or take a few). If Strasburg makes 3 more minor league starts like has been predicted he would be right around the 50 inning mark when he comes up in early June. Which would leave just 110 major league innings.

That could get problematic since even with a 6 inning limit, Strasburg would burn through a 100 major league innings by the time Sept. rolled around. Which would obviously take Strasburg out of any playoff race (not to mention actual playoff games if the Nats made it). Now while the Nats could potentially have leeway to add 5-10 innings to that max limit, that obviously won’t make a huge difference as to when Strasburg would need to be shut down.

The Nationals would have some options to keep Strasburg as part of a playoff push and not completely blow up their innings plan for him. While it got maligned somewhat in the media and by fans, some version of the Yankees “Joba Rules” would make sense in this situation. The Joba rules named after fireballer Joba Chamberlain, were put in place for almost this exact situation (the Yankees did some things that backed themselves into a corner). Basically what they do is extend the time where a pitcher can influence games without extending his innings limit.

This is done in two main ways. First, the Nationals can skip a couple of Strasburg’s starts, which wouldn’t be a bad thing since in college he was used to pitching with extra rest. The other way the Nationals can extend Strasburg is not as often used, but it does keep Strasburg impacting games, and that is to limit him for a couple of “starts” to say between 2-4 innings. Now likely using that method the Nationals would have a set day for Strasburg to pitch, but have him come in relief (they could still start him but that is harder in the NL). Basically what the Nats would be doing would be setting it up like a spring training game where two starters share 3+ innings. The Nationals could say pair Strasburg up with Craig Stammen (another young pitcher who should watch his innings) or even possibly a healthy Ross Detwiler or Jordan Zimmermann depending how their rehabs go. Then they could pitch Stammen/Detwiler/Zimmermann for 4-5 innings, and bring Strasburg in for 3 innings. The risk there obviously is that you could bring Strasburg into situations where the game is already decided one way or another, but it would still give him regular work and limit his innings. The one thing I’d avoid as long as possible is solely working him out of the bullpen (maybe in the playoffs), but I’d much rather see him getting regular work in 3 inning stretches than just one inning here or there.

The main thing for the Nationals though is to stick to their inning limit and not add too many more innings than that 160 mark. Too many pitchers have broken down due to overuse too soon in their career. The Nationals might be a contender this year, but they have even a brighter future, so ensuring that has to be their top priority.

Adam, from Pittsburgh: When can I expect the Pirates to stop their losing ways and actually contend in the N.L. Central?

I know it might be tough to imagine, but the short answer to that question is sooner than you think. Right now the Pirates are currently third in the N.L. Central with a 13-15 record. While it hasn’t been pretty so far, the Pirates are showing that they can compete this year in the National League. While the playoffs and even a .500 record might still elude them this season, they shouldn’t be that far off from attaining that level of competitiveness. ‘Wait till next year’ might be the answer to your question, but for the first time in a long time it should be fun to be a Pirates fan.

Pittsburgh has risen to third place in the Central, despite the fact that a number of their key veterans have struggled thus far this season. Pitchers Zach Duke and Paul Maholm have been ineffective. And middle infield acquisitions Bobby Crosby and Akinori Iwamura have been major disappointments so far. If any of these players can get out of their slumps the Pirates will have a veteran presence to go along with their young talent.

The one thing the Pirates do have going them is their young talent, which seems to be getting better as this year goes on. Andrew McCutchen is a true 5-tool talent and one of the best young players in the game. He is only going to continue to get better and should be the cornerstone of the Pirates future success. Ryan Doumit is one of the best offensive catchers in the N.L. and has returned to form after an injury plagued season a year ago. Garrett Jones might not be the youngest player in the Pirates core, but he is showing that last year’s numbers weren’t a complete fluke. Jones also offers versatility, able to play both corner outfield spots in addition to first base. Joining McCutchen, Doumit, and Jones this year, the Pirates have gotten a surprise performance from third baseman Andy LaRoche. LaRoche was one of the key pieces in the Jason Bay trade a few years back, but until now had been a major disappointment. Now though, LaRoche is finally performing and could be a key part of the Pirates future. The Pirates have some additional former top propsects who right now are struggling but could still pan out. 1B Steven Pearce, OF Lastings Milledge, 1B Jeff Clement, and P Charlie Morton all have shown a lot of promise at one time, but have yet to reach their full potential.

In addition to their young major league talent, the Pirates have begun to stock up their farm system with talented young players. While most of their talent is in the lower minors and still 2-4 years away, the Pirates do have some interesting young players in their upper minors. Corner infielder Pedro Alvarez and OF Jose Tabata are close to becoming frontline stars, and should be up in the majors within the next month or so. Pitchers Brad Lincoln and Daniel Moskos should be joining the major league pitching staff soon as well. By the end of this season the Pirates could have a lineup with McCutchen, Alvarez, Tabata, Doumit, LaRoche and Jones. That is a pretty solid lineup, that should be very capable of competing next season.

The Pirates one weakness going forward is their lack of pitching depth. They have had a number of talented young pitchers come in over the years, but none have really reached their potential with the Pirates. Even Brad Lincoln, their top pitching prospect, projects as a mid-rotation starter. And while they have some other intriguing arms, most are at least 2 years away, and few have frontline starting upside. The Pirates will have to continue building up their pitching talent through the draft or trades to get to the point where they can compete, but have a decent start.

The Pirates aren’t a perfect team going forward, but they do have a lot of promise. While it may be cliche, waiting for next season may answer all your problems.