Why the Nationals have wasted money on Stephen Strasburg

Stephen Strasburg has a ton of talent. But he's never faced anything close to major league competition. And no one knows how durable he is. But the Nationals are a desperate franchise. So they gave him a record deal.
Stephen Strasburg signed on the dotted line. The future Ben McDonald/Mark Prior is getting a $15 million deal.
And good for him and his super agent/mercenary of death Scott Boras.
But, again, that's a lot of money for a player who just hasn't done anything.
Look, we never mind when actual big leaguers make oodles and oodles of money. You'll never hear us complain about Alex Rodriguez or Vernon Wells. We won't even complain about Adam Eaton. And we have no problem with teams paying prospects enough money to lure them away from college.
That said, these players who have no track record are a crap shoot. Especially pitchers. Picking which future star is going to make it is little more than an educated guess. And that's after they've pitched 150 minor league innings.

Consider this:

• The Nationals are dishing out more money to Strasburg than the Cardinals are paying Adam Wainwright. He has a World Series ring, is in his fifth year in big league baseball and leads the National League in wins.


• The Nationals are paying him more than the Giants pay Tim Lincecum. And he has a Cy Young.

If Stephen Strasburg doesn't win 60 games for the Nationals during his career, he was an absolute waste. And think about how low a number that is. Sixty wins isn't asking too much for someone who just shattered the draftee signing record.
But he'll probably only be in Washington for five years, six at the most. That's 12 wins a season.
Mark Prior, the man who's contract record Strasburg broke, won more than 12 games once in his career. Ben McDonald, another pitcher Strasburg has been compared to, did it four times. But he was out of baseball by his 30th birthday.
The list of pitchers selected high in the draft and given insane contracts is littered with names such as Darren Dreifort, Brien Taylor and Todd Van Poppel.
None of them ever made a long-lasting impact.

In fact, Strasburg's deal will set the Nats back further than they were yesterday when he wasn't signed. That's especially true when you consider they are trying to bring in free agents and other draft picks and had to put so much cash into one player. WHO HASN'T GOTTEN A PROFESSIONAL HITTER OUT.
But that's the risk they're willing to take.