What It Means:

Strasburg was added to the 15-day disabled list Monday because of soreness in his right elbow. Over his last three starts, he posted a 14.66 ERA, including allowing a career high nine runs last Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies in Denver. Despite the Nats insisting that Strasburg will only need a few weeks of rest, there are several red flags worth monitoring. A.J. Cole has been called-up to replace Strasburg place on Monday and start against the Baltimore Orioles.

Strasburg's rough three outing stretch increased his ERA by almost a full point to 3.59 for the season, although his 3.25 xFIP still ranks third-best among qualified pitchers. His 30.39 strikeout percentage is well above the league average (20.99 percent) and we currently project Strasburg to record a 3.26 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP over the remaining course of the season.