Such were the cornerstones of nearly every article that went beyond the staples of the rudimentary Strasburg caricature. After that, there was little variation: There were news stories about the battle between Scott Boras and the Nationals and columns about whether any college pitcher deserves $50 million, which ultimately funneled into two arguments:

• Strasburg is a plus-plus-plus-squared pitcher worth every penny, regardless of how many pennies it requires.

• Too many can't-miss prospects have whiffed to enshrine Strasburg already. He's good — really, really good — but plenty of amateur pitchers have been pretty damn good, too, and now they're stuck reminiscing about their high school glory days.

With most stories quoting hardened scouts, mid-level executives, college coaches and washed-up former No. 1 picks, it's easy to forget that Strasburg is still just a baseball player, not a commodity. And that brings us to perhaps the most salacious detail in the Strasburg lovefest — one that, for once, concerns Strasburg's skills — courtesy of ESPN's Tim Keown:

San Diego State pitching coach Rusty Filter, the man who created the monster, says Strasburg's "plus-plus" changeup couldn't be used in college because the hitters weren't good enough to be fooled by it.

PHOTO: Flickr's jpangan3.

Strasburg Is The Pick, If The Price Is Right [Washington Post]
Strasburg vs. Nats Shaping Up To Be Biggest Battle [SI.com]
Strasburg no sure thing [ESPN]
Strasburg worth every penny [ESPN]
Pitcher's Bright Stars Sometimes Flame Out [NY Times]

You don't need to be Billy Beane to notice that Strasburg, therefore, has won more games than the Washington Nationals, who are 11-27 and badly in need of a guy who can go 12-0 with a 1.34 ERA and 174 strikeouts. The Nationals' entire pitching staff has struck out only 228 batters.

So the Nationals will draft Strasburg with the No. 1 pick in the MLB Draft, and they will bicker with the Scott Boras client until August, when both sides realize that the Signing Deadline is the next day and the extra $100 grand isn't really that necessary. But don't expect to see Strasburg padding the Nationals' paltry pitching stats this year. Washington G.M. Mike Rizzo told Jeff Passan that he can't imagine Strasburg joining the team without doing time in the minors.

If the Nationals wanted to make some easy cash, though, they would start him Sept. 28 at home against the Mets, take a page from San Francisco, and jack up the ticket prices. Which brings us to an existential dilemma: Would you pay $250 to watch a 55-100 team?

Strasburg won't see D.C. this season [Jeff Passan]

We understand that it's in MLB's best financial interest to try to turn its draft into something approximating the NFL's, or at least the NBA's, but it's just never going to happen. You think an NFL draft is full of names you don't know? The Rays are deciding between two guys named Tim Beckham and Buster Posey today, and if you know who those people are, you're either a scout or you went to high school with one of them. And we're still years away from actually seeing them play in the first place.

But, you know, if you really want live streaming of the MLB Draft, you can get it today. We don't understand it, but, whatever, knock yourself out. We're more excited about the Negro League Draft beforehand anyway.

Rays Deciding Between Two For Top Pick [MLB.com]

(UPDATE: Ha. Walk Off Walk is live blogging this. That'll be, uh ... fun.)

The draft is on ESPN2, and you can follow along on Minor League Ball and Rumors And Rants. (Baseball Prospectus is all over it as well.) While some people are skeptical that this will make compelling television, The Dugout, as always, has the most brilliant take on how it might go down, imagining Bud Selig in his basement, being bothered by his mother with cookies.

Because we're still taking a little time out from ESPN for a while, we probably won't be watching, but we look forward to our Cardinals taking ... uh ... somebody, we guess.

The MLB Genuine Draft [The Dugout]
You Want Me To Watch That? [Winning The Turnover Battle]