Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg was placed on the 15-day disabled list with what’s been termed as neck tightness. According to manager Matt Williams, it’s a back issue. Either way, it’s obvious something has been wrong with Strasburg for a while now. The righty has an astronomical 6.55 ERA and 1.72 WHIP on the season, which ranks him as one of the worst starting pitchers in the entire league. As a result, I think his time on the disabled list could be a positive thing for Strasburg and the Nationals.

Despite his struggles over the duration of the season, Strasburg has repeatedly stated that he feels healthy and there’s nothing wrong physically. For a guy with his repertoire and talent, that’s almost impossible to believe. Prior to 2015, Strasburg has never finished a season with an ERA higher than 3.16, or a WHIP above 1.15. For him to be 10 starts into the regular season, and his ERA be sitting at 6.55, either there’s an issue he’s trying to pitch through, or he’s completely lost himself as a pitcher.

Strasburg also left a start on May 5 against the Miami Marlins due to a discomfort underneath his right shoulder blade. He was sent for a chiropractic adjustment, which seemed to immediately resolve the issue and he never missed a start since.

His time on the disabled list will hopefully allow Strasburg to figure out exactly what’s been wrong. Once the doctors figure out the cause of the neck tightness, and get that issue taken care of, it will allow Strasburg to start fresh with his mechanics during rehab and fix any bad habits he’s developed while trying to pitch through all these issues.

The Nationals need Strasburg to get healthy and return to his old ways if the team has any chance of accomplishing their goals in 2015. The club has Max Scherzer and Jordan Zimmermann installed at the top of the rotation, but usually, a team needs three dominant starters to win the World Series (unless you’re the San Francisco Giants, in which case you only need Madison Bumgarner).

Jason Fletcher is a MLB Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonFletcher25, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google+.

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