Strasburg’s rise has San Diego State confident

Maybe right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg is super human after all.

After a good freshman season for San Diego State, Strasburg put together a sophomore campaign that garnered him a wealth of attention and accolades. Then the hype started.

Scouts knew that he would be the first pick of the MLB draft after his junior campaign this past season. Some baseball pundits even described him as the best pitcher ever in the collegiate game. That can certainly be debated, but there’s some truth to it, too.

But while Strasburg made San Diego State baseball a weekly headline on nightly sports shows around the nation this past season because of his amazing feats, what he brought to the mound for the Aztecs could have a longer lasting effect than just a few headlines.

Strasburg could be the difference between the Aztecs taking a backseat to other programs on the West Coast or becoming a force to be reckoned with sooner rather than later.

“As a coach, I have to say that Strasburg gave us a lot of credibility and exposure,” San Diego State coach Tony Gwynn said. “He was great for our program and good for college baseball as well. Now we just have to find another guy like him.”

Strasburg’s ability to bring exposure to the Aztecs was impressive. Usually fans of other schools waited in line as the Aztecs got off the bus for a glimpse and autograph from Gwynn. But things were much different with Strasburg around.

“You know, it’s pretty funny, last year we went to TCU for a series and normally when we go there, a few people are waiting to get my autograph,” Gwynn said. “Not this time. We got off the bus and they didn’t care about me. They went straight to Stephen. It was just funny to see someone else get that type of attention. I really enjoyed it.”

His fame and exposure for the program continued in the postseason.

After accumulating 40 wins at the end of the regular season, the Aztecs earned an at-large bid to the postseason and competed in the Irvine Regional. ESPN made the regional its headlined event for the weekend. The hurler was asked to do programs on every channel ESPN has to offer. Even with intense pressure to perform at a high level in regional play, Strasburg agreed to give ESPN all the access it wanted.

By doing this, Strasburg brought even more attention to the San Diego State program when most people were watching; especially recruits.

San Diego State once was a program that everyone seemed to chuckle at. You know, the program with one of the best facilities on the West Coast that had failed to make a good impression on the national stage.

But with Strasburg and the help of the entire 2009 team, San Diego State is a program many coaches now take seriously. The Aztecs could be a rising program.

“I think last season really got the coaches, players and community excited about this program again,” Gwynn said. “We’re hoping to get some confidence from making a regional. The guys are really chomping at the bit to get fall workouts going.”

“The players feel like we’re finally over the hump. Our motto for the fall and spring will be “Don’t look back, move forward.”.”

The Aztecs will look different when they convene for official team fall workouts in October. Strasburg obviously is gone for good. But the Aztecs also must find a way to replace leading hitter Erik Castro and Tyler Lavigne, another outstanding weekend starter that rose to the occasion last season.

There also will be a new face on the coaching staff. Longtime assistant coach Rusty Filter left SDSU following last season to join Mark Marquess’ staff at Stanford. Replacing him is Eric Valenzuela, who made a name for himself at rival San Diego for consistently developing one of the nation’s best pitching staffs and recruiting at a high level.

Filter was a loss, but Valenzuela’s addition might be great for the program. First, it takes away USD’s best recruiter and gives SDSU the luxury of having one of the nation’s rising assistant coaches. Valenzuela also is known for his hard-nosed approach, which also should benefit the program in many ways.

“Losing Rusty is tough because he has been in this program longer than I have, but looking at Eric and playing USD every year, you couldn’t help but to pay attention to the type of pitchers he was getting in that program each season,” Gwynn said. “USD has a tough recruiting situation with the cost of school and I always admired the way he recruited over there. He is an excellent recruiter and fits the mold of what we want.”

Fortunately for Valenzuela, he arrives at SDSU at a good time. Sure, the Aztecs have some incredibly tough holes to fill in the spring, but stud reliever Addison Reed will be back and the Aztecs surely have some other pitching options with some newcomers.

Losing Strasburg hurts more than one could imagine, but Gwynn remembers the day he had to be convinced by his assistant coaches to recruit Strasburg in high school. The righty wasn’t always a dominant pitcher. Sometimes he was average. But once he got on campus at SDSU, he lost some weight, improved his work ethic and became one of the best pitchers to ever put on a college baseball jersey.

Replacing him will be impossible, but perhaps another pitcher or two will make the same strides as Strasburg did his freshman and sophomore years.

“I just hope other pitchers in the program look at Strasburg as a perfect example of what you can do if you work hard,” Gwynn said. “Strasburg didn’t have a lot of confidence or work ethic when he got here. But once he spent some time in the program, his maturity and work ethic went off the charts.”

Strasburg spent three seasons and became the most decorated pitcher in school history. But next season and perhaps in many more campaigns after that, he will be viewed as an inspiration to every player going through the program.

Strasburg put the Aztecs on the map. Now it’s their job to seize the opportunity.