This is going to sound odd, but it may be better in terms of length of pitching if Strasburg struck out fewer people. Of course, he should try his hardest, so there is nothing he can do, but...
Sure, sounds good. Only, I don't think it will make much of a difference, over half the strikeouts he had were off of 0-2 counts. He throws balls like everyone else, but the majority of his balls are pitches that are right on the edge of the strikezone. Unless he is inducing first or second pitch grounders every time, he might as well just stick to what is game is... pounding away the strike zone. He was only averaging something like 12 or 13 pitches an inning and I have a feeling he might have a few CG or SO by the end of the season.
I get what you are saying is hypothetical and it definitely makes sense in terms of long term for his future. But, his game isn't groundballs. It is going after the batter, knowing that his stuff is better than anything they have seen, and getting them to either a.) strikeout b.) foul the ball (possibly an out) c.) pop up/fly out. The second two outcomes usually result from a problem the batter has with timing the pitches (usually off speed, breaking type stuff, but with also on fastball's with his velocity). However, his slider (as most are) appeared to be successful in keeping the ball on the ground.
