ESPN

Stephen Strasburg is supposedly the greatest thing since sliced bread. The problem, as Keith Law sagely put it in a recent chat, is that sliced bread is the best thing since Matt Wieters. Every potential new star is going to be the next player to redefine the sport.

We're addicted to hype (it's definitely one of the top five addictions in the ESPN era). So is Strasburg special, or just the best prospect this year? Baseball experts drop by SportsNation on an almost daily basis to answer to you, and the consensus seems to be this might be legit. No, seriously.

Buster Olney: I think that Strasburg will sign with the Nats, in the end, and that he'll be in their rotation all year. They desperately need something to create some interest in their franchise, and Strasburg will be that guy right away -- right from the start of his career, he'll have FernandoMania type of attention, Mark Fidrych type of attention. I'd bet that he'll sign a major league deal and that the Nationals will want him in the majors ASAP.

Jayson Stark: Tony Gwynn said this week that whatever team drafts him should ease off and let him recharge for next year after all the innings he's thrown in college and international competition in the last year.

Keith Law: I'm confident that they'll take him and that eventually he'll sign. He's not going to do better by waiting a year, and the risk to him is enormous. My suggestion, again, is to offer him some huge number on Draft Day with a condition: "It's $30 million if you sign today. It goes down half a million dollars every day you don't sign." And you leak it to the press so everyone knows what the kid is turning down if he doesn't sign.

Andy (Chicago)

Would any player who was drafted over the last 10 years have been taken over Strasburg if they were in the same draft?

Jerry Crasnick

That's a great question. Guys like Josh Hamilton, Mark Prior and Joe Mauer came with a ton of hype, but I'm not sure any of them would have been selected over Stephen Strasburg. Full transcript