Yes this is a very real possibility. ESPN has been calling Strasburg the next LeBron and you probably have seen him pitch. His manager in college was Tony Gynn who probably put a lot of great knowledge in his head. His fastball can top out at 103 mph and he has a lot of pitches where his breaking stuff is not only devasting but the speed change between that and his fastball is sure to keep batters off balance. There has even been talk that he could skip the minors and go straight to the majors. While the Nationals would probably love to have him in the majors, I think on many levels it would be a bad move to have him make the jump right away because there is a certain way of life that you need to pick up first in the minors then in spring training before you get to the big league club.
However another decision could have an even larger impact on the Nationals. The next phenom, the real LeBron of Baseball according to Sports Illustrated, 16 year old Bryce Harper who hits homers 570 ft and can throw a fastball at 96 mph (although its really his hitting thats highly touted). He is a sophomore in high school right now but he might drop out and go to a junior college next year. If he does that, he can be drafted and he will probably be the number 1 pick next year as well. There's a lot that this can mean:
1) The Nationals are on pace to have an awful year meaning they will once again the overall number 1 pick. They will have a shot of signing this phenom as well meaning they will have two of the most exciting prospects in ages in their farm system and very soon on their major league club. However they will have to pay. They will probably pay 50 million for Strasburg and they will need to as well for Harper. This scenario then only happens if they can afford to add Harper as well.
2) A High Schooler will have to drop out of school to make this happen. Now he and his family are alright with this, so he can also face some tougher talent at the junior college level but at the same time that is a huge step for major sports to have a high school student drop out to go pro.
3) There are rumors that baseball execs might want to change the draft after this year by making the rules a little more streamlined and capping bonuses.
When this is all said and done, there is a real possibility of two very good players joining the Nationals over the next two years and in four years they will both be on major league rosters.
This could backfire if they turn out to be busts, because the Nationals are going to pay these two LeBrons a bunch of cash.
And hype is a two-way street ( http://www.newsy.com/videos/prodigy_at_16_hype_or_home_run ) as it takes a bunch of adjustments to become a good big league hitter.
Man I owe you a lot of thanks…when I was writing this article I had another point I wanted to list, and then I completely forgot what that point was and you nailed it.
In other words: point 4: These guys don't pan out.