Strasburg Out 12-18 Months, Needs Tommy John Surgery

Stephen Strasburg will be out a whopping 12 to 18 months with a torn ligament in his right arm. This means that not only is his rookie season over, but his sophomore season might be done as well. Strasburg will have Tommy John surgery on Friday after an MRI showed the extent of his injury.

Strasburg's diagnosis came under some scrutiny when Rob Dibble commented that he should just "suck it up" and play. 12 to 18 months seems a bit steep, but this is how long it takes to come back from this type of surgery. Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmerman just came back from the same surgery which he had a year ago. This is not a case of the Nationals being over protective of their star, this was just a completely unfair comment from someone who has no idea what he's talking about.

Yes, the Nationals have been very cautious with him this season, but that's because it is very easy to mess up a future star pitcher. There are numerous examples of prospective star pitchers who amounted to little because of injury or because of teams asking too much too soon. The Nationals were determined not to let that happen, yet despite their precautions, injuries have been a problem. Strasburg was placed on the disabled list a month ago when he complained of tightness in his back and shoulder. Strasburg then tore his tendon in his third start back right when the team was debating whether they should shut him down for the rest of the season.

The short term affects of this are pretty bad. This is almost worst case scenario for the Nationals. After two straight 100 loss seasons, the Nationals finally began to convince some fans that they had the pieces in place to begin building this team, and Strasburg was an integral part of that. He has been the face of the franchise all season long and has taken attention away from what will most likely be the Nationals' fifth last place finish in the division in the last six seasons. The Nationals were even selling out games at home and on the road with people who wanted to see him pitch and he did not disappoint. Strasburg's rookie season stats are a 2.91 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 68 innings, the best strikeout rate in the Major League. After establishing Strasburg as their franchise player, the team has little to draw fans for the rest of the season and most of next season. The only hope is the quick development of number one pick Bryce Harper. The Nationals could really use a full time draw rather than a pitcher to bring the fans back in.

As bad as this may seem presently, the long term affects might actually not be too bad. Injuries are always serious when it comes to pitchers because there is the chance that they never fully recover to the pitcher they were or could have been. The good news is that around 90% of pitchers who undergo Tommy John surgery return to be just as good. While it is definitely something both Strasburg and the team need to keep an eye on, it is too early to worry that the future phenom's potential has already plummeted.

An interesting question that the team may have to ask themselves is whether they should bring Strasburg back at all next season. If Strasburg is ready to play by next September, will it be worth bringing him back? If the team is not in any sort of contention should they risk another injury for the valuable major league experience and fan draw or should they keep him back for the 2012 season? Something to keep an eye on.

For the near sighted this is pretty much the worst thing that could have happened. In reality, this may be the one long term injury that won't jeopardize his entire career. While I'm certainly disappointed that his season is already over, if the worst thing that happens from this is that Strasburg sits out a year, I'll be relieved.