Two Aces Placed on the DL

Add two more stars to the list of injured MLB stars in 2013. While MLB faces a major steroid scandal that the baseball world debates as we speak, two of the games best young pitchers have been placed on the 15-day disabled list. Reds ace Johnny Cueto and Nationals prospect Stephen Strasburg were both placed on the DL with lat strains. In Cueto's case the Cincinnati training staff has told the media that they do not believe that the injury is serious, and placed Cueto on the DL to give him enough time to fully heal. Strasburg is dealing with a similar injury, however the severity of his strain has yet to be determined and is suspected to be worse than that of Cueto.

For the Nationals, this may be another anchor to an already sinking ship of disappointment. With a sputtering offense, a disappointing bullpen, an injured young superstar in Bryce Harper, and a looming steroid suspension for Gio Gonzalez, this could be the last straw for the Nationals in the 2013 season. I cant see them putting up any kind of fight in the NL East and they should thank the L.A. Angels for being the only mire disappointing team in the big leagues.

As for the Cincinnati Reds they have had to deal with the absence of their ace earlier this year and good pitching is not hard to come by for the Reds. During Cueto's last DL stint young lefty Tony Cingrani filled in his rotation spot and was nothing short of spectacular during his time with the big club. I would expect another call up from Louisville for Cingrani and with him working on his secondary pitches in the minors I expect him to be just as good as the last time we saw him. Don't get it twisted, the Reds still have an ace in the rotation in Mat Latos who has put up Cy Young award  numbers this year in the Queen City. The Reds will have to lean on Latos, which will not be a problem for the young righty who has always risen to the challenges thrown at him in his career.