Just a year ago, Stephen Strasburg was being hailed not only as baseball’s next big thing but also arguably one of the best pitchers in the game at the time. Right now, we haven’t seen Strasburg pitch on a major league mound since Aug. 21, 2010, because of Tommy John surgery last September, leading some perhaps to forget about the very pitcher who had once wowed them.

But Strasburg appears ready to make the next step in returning to the majors. According to a report by The Washington Times, Nationals manager Davey Johnson said that Strasburg would throw a simulated game on Tuesday and then could pitch in a rehab outing in seven to 10 days.

The Times reports that since Strasburg began throwing simulated games two weeks ago, his fastball has “been clocked between 92 and 95 easily.” Johnson would like Strasburg to move into the Washington rotation some time in September and fill the spot left open by Jordan Zimmerman, who has an innings limit that is expected to be met in his next four starts.

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