With dominant second half, Strasburg reached new heights

As we transition into offseason mode here, we're reviewing each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Stephen Strasburg, who put together the best season of his career and capped it with a dominant postseason performance.

PLAYER REVIEW: STEPHEN STRASBURG

Age on opening day 2018: 29

How acquired: First-round pick, 2009 draft

MLB service time: 7 years, 118 days

2017 salary: $15 million

Contract status: Signed for $15 million in 2018, $35 million in 2019, $25 million in 2020, $15 million in 2021-22, $45 million in 2023. $10 million signing bonus in 2019. Salaries deferred in 2019 ($30 million), 2020 ($10 million) and 2023 ($30 million), paid out $10 million per year from 2024-30. Strasburg may opt out of contract after 2019 or 2020.

2017 stats: 15-4, 2.52 ERA, 28 GS, 1 CG, 175.1 IP, 131 H, 55 R, 49 ER, 13 HR, 47 BB, 204 SO, 7 HBP, 1.015 WHIP, 5.6 WAR

Quotable: "As a pitcher, I like to take pride in that, the effort I put out there in each start and the amount of pitches that I execute. I think that's something that's really helped me, playing the game within the game and focusing on what you can control out there and making the adjustments when necessary. And, you know, when all is said and done, just knowing that you gave it everything you had." - Strasburg

2017 analysis: Strasburg entered the season with some lingering questions about the state of his elbow, having missed most of the previous September (and the postseason) with a strained flexor mass. He put those doubts to rest, though, with a good (at times great) first half of the season, earning the third All-Star selection of his career.

But then came an all-too-familiar scene: Strasburg departed a start early due to some type of discomfort in his arm. It happened July 23 at Arizona, and it was initially described by the right-hander as "achiness" in his forearm. After a more thorough exam, the injury was diagnosed as a nerve impingement, and the pitcher was placed on the disabled list for the eighth time in his career.

Turns out the time off was to Strasburg's benefit. He returned four weeks later and proceeded to put together the best prolonged stretch of his career. Over his final eight starts, he was 5-1 with an 0.84 ERA, with a club-record 35-inning scoreless streak sandwiched in there.

That positioned Strasburg well heading into the postseason, and he carried his success directly into October. Though he was charged with the loss in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, he allowed only two unearned runs in seven innings against the Cubs. And then, after an eventful 24-hour stretch in which he initially was unable to pitch due to an illness, Strasburg started Game 4 at Wrigley Field and proceeded to author the start of his career: seven scoreless innings, 12 strikeouts, keeping his team's season alive.

How dominant was Strasburg by season's end? Well, he surrendered an earned run in only one of his final 66 innings, and he surrendered a run-scoring hit to only five of the final 260 batters he faced.

2018 outlook: Though the Nationals as a team will enter 2018 with the disappointment of October 2017 still hovering over them, Strasburg will enter it feeling as good about himself as he ever has.

Strasburg has evolved as a pitcher during the course of his career. He knows how to dial up his fastball when he needs to, but he also knows how to conserve something for later in games when necessary. His curveball and changeup have always been effective pitches, but he perfected those to new levels of unhittable late this season.

There will always been injury concerns anytime Strasburg takes the mound, and that will probably be true for the remainder of his career. But he did show this season a better awareness for catching a minor ailment before it turned into something worse, and in the process better positioned himself to be 100 percent for the most important games of the year.

And no matter what happens now, Strasburg's NLDS performance (especially his Game 4 gem in Chicago) helped change the tired narrative of a pitcher who could only perform when conditions were absolutely perfect. After a brilliant season capped by a brilliant postseason, he should never have to answer those questions again.