Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg, who is coming off October surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow, had his first formal throwing session this spring Sunday.
"I saw today Stephen Strasburg, in his first bullpen session, varying his slide step and working on his looks to home plate," manager Matt Williams said, per CSNwashington.com. "That’s the attention to detail we’re looking for. He’s concerned about it and he wants to improve on it. His first bullpen session, he’s working on it. I think that’s a really good thing."
Holding runners has been an issue for Strasburg, as opponents have been successful on 79 percent of stolen base attempts against him, which is above the MLB average of 73 percent.
"I didn’t really have much time in the minors to work on the little nuances of pitching," he said. "And that was one thing where I just compensated for it by just being really quick to home plate. And big-league baserunners, hitters, coaches, they’re going to pick up on that. They’re just going to cheat and sell-out. If I can’t even see where they’re at, they know I’m going to home plate, so they’re gone."