Here I am at the beautiful new Metro Bank Park in Harrisburg, a brisk 2.5 hour drive from home. Still, Stephen Strasburg is slated for his third professional start this morning, so it's all worth it. The opponent is the Reading Phillies, but the big guns -- Tyson Gillies and Domonic Brown - are not in the starting lineup, so that's a bit of a bummer. They'll get their crack at the phenom in a few days, when Harrisburg takes a trip to FirstEnergy Stadium.

Reading
Michael Spidale - CF
Freddy Galvis - SS
Tagg Bozied - LF
Brian Stavisky - 1B
Kevin Mahar - RF
Brandon Pinckney - 3B
Tuffy Gosewich - C
Keoni DeRenne - 2B
Yohan Flande - P

Harrisburg
Bradley Coon - CF
Adam Fox - 3B
Danny Espinosa -SS
Jesus Valdez - RF
Leonard Davis - LF
Chris Marrero - 1B
Sean Rooney - C
Pedro Lopez - 2B
Stephen Strasburg - P

First inning: Strasburg does what he's supposed to do: mow 'em down. Spidale, Galvis and Bozied go down on a pair of groundouts to left side and a foul pop.

Flande, meanwhile, who enters with an ERA of 0.00, puts a couple of men on before wiggling out of trouble.

Second inning: Strasburg gets his first two Ks of the day, one on a 97 mph fastball at the letters, the other on an 81 mph breaking pitch in the dirt. He is a very, very nasty man.


Third inning: Strasburg looks mortal. He gives up a one-out hit to Keoni De Renne, then, after Yohan Flande strikes out on a bunt, Michael Spidale reached on an error by shortstop Danny Espinosa. Never fear, though, Nats fans, Strasburg got the next man to bounce into a fielder's choice.

One thing I found curious, however, was that, after Flande, Strasburg's velocity dipped from sitting 96-98 into the 93-94 range.

Fourth inning: I just shot some videos and am uploading them as I type. Anyway, in this inning, Strasburg fanned Tagg Bozied looking, walked Brian Stavisky, then got the next two men in fairly short order. Fastball back up to 96 this time.

Also, the Senators finally cracked Flande when Bradley Coon laid down a perfect squeeze bunt that hugged the third-base line. 1-0, Senators.

Fifth inning: Strasburg sets down the R-Phils in order, including Tuffy Gosewich on strikes. That marked the end of the afternoon for the ace-in-waiting. His final line: 5 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 6 SO, 67 pitches, 48 strikes.

As I said, Strasburg is out of the game, but I would be remiss if I didn't also praise the job Yohan Flande is doing out there. He has managed to give up just one run -- on 11 hits. The only run came on Coon's perfect squeeze bunt in the fourth.

While the Thunder are on the road, I have to find a way to fill my time (and this blog) with relevant coverage. So, with that in mind, here's what I have planned for the rest of the month when (a) the team is out of town, or (b) I'm not covering.

Tomorrow and Sunday: I'll be in Lakewood to watch the BlueClaws take on the Greensboro Grasshoppers. I'll be on the look out for Claws outfielders Domingo Santana, Jiwan James and Anthony Hewitt, as well as Greensboro catcher Kyle Skipworth. Baseball America ranks Santana and James as the No. 10 and 11 prospects in the system, respectively. Baseball Prospectus has James at 7 and Santana at 9.

BA ranks Skipworth at the Marlins' 7th-best prospect; BP has him at No. 9.
Wednesday: This could be a double-duty day. I'm definitely headed up to Harrisburg in the morning to see Stephen Strasburg (perhaps you've heard of him) face Yohan Flande and the Reading Phillies. After seeing Phillippe Aumont on Wednesday, Flande will complete my viewing of the two best prospects the R-Phils' rotation has to offer. Also, the thought of Strasburg facing Domonic Brown is tantalizing to say the least.

Then, if I'm feeling up to the drive, I'll head down to Wilmington, Del. to see the Blue Rocks take on the Kinston Indians. The matchup that night pits Alex White, Cleveland's first-rounder last year, against the Chris Dwyer, Kansas City's fourth-round selection in 2009. Wilmington also has slugging first baseman Eric Hosmer in its lineup, so that would sweeten the deal.

Saturday: I'm headed up to New York's Hospital for Special Surgery to hear presentations about platelet-rich plasma therapy, rotator-cuff surgery and Tommy John surgery. These are relevant to the Thunder for a couple of reasons. Alan Horne is scheduled to undergo PRP therapy in lieu of rotator-cuff surgery, and Christian Garcia may need to have a second TJ surgery.

Sweetening the deal is the fact that the TJ presentation is being given by Dr. David Altchek, the man who would perform Garcia's operation if he needs one. In any case, Garcia will meet with Altchek on Monday in New York.