He has a wiry-strong build with barely any fat on him, which is a major improvement over where he was in high school, when excess weight was a major reason he was bypassed entirely in the 2006 Rule 4 Draft. (He wasn't throwing 97-99 then, either.)
He takes an enormous stride toward the plate and generates absurd arm speed as his arm catches up to the rest of his body (that is, his arm is slightly "late" relative to his front side), which is a double-edged sword since it gives him great velocity but the lag puts some extra stress on his shoulder. He has no problems repeating his delivery, which is a good sign for future command.
If there's a concern on Strasburg, it's that a handful of guys who saw sudden spikes in their velocities have broken down soon afterward -- Boston prospect Nick Hagadone blew out his elbow inside of a year, while Joel Zumaya got about four years in before his arm went haywire -- the theory being that their arms weren't physically able to handle the increases in arm speed.
Strasburg has gone from 88-89 as a high school senior in 2006 to 94-97 in the summers of 2007 and 2008 to 96-100 now, and there is no good comparable that might give us guidance on how he'll hold up or even what his early career might look like. If you're in the Nationals' shoes, you need to just draft him and hope for the best...
...If I'm Washington, I would give Strasburg that deal and bring him directly to the big leagues. I'm not sure what Strasburg could possibly have to learn in the minors, and if there really is a finite number of pitches in that arm, you might as well get the most out of them.
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