IRVINE, Calif.—Baseball America scout Dave Perkin, sitting to my right, put it this way: "It looks like somebody kidnapped the real Strasburg and put this guy in his place."

Perkin said San Diego State ace Stephen Strasburg looked a bit off in his bullpen, throwing very few fastballs and appearing to cut off his delivery. Virginia has been all over his fastball, which has ranged between 94-98 mph in the first two innings. Phil Gosselin hit a first-pitch 97 mph fastball off the left-field scoreboard to put the Cavs on the board in the second inning, and the Aztecs called more sliders and changeups than heaters after that. By my count, Strasburg has thrown 26 offspeed pitches and 13 fastballs since giving up the home run, and he worked in the 92-95 range in the second inning. He struck out the side in the second on two sliders and a 92 mph heater, but in between the Cavs scratched out an unearned run to build a 2-0 lead through two innings.

Not surprisingly, with this game being played in Scott Boras’ hometown of Irvine, Boras himself is on hand, sitting behind the plate with a number of other Boras Corp employees.