Drafting pitcher Stephen Strasburg was the easy part for the Washington Nationals. Signing him could be much more difficult.

Strasburg was selected by the woeful Nationals with the first pick in baseball’s amateur draft Tuesday night, a move that was long expected.

Considered one of the most talented prospects in the event’s 45-year history, the right-hander features a blazing fastball that’s been clocked at 102 mph – and some nasty breaking stuff, too. He went 13-1 with a 1.32 ERA this season for San Diego State, leading the Aztecs to their first postseason berth since 1991.

“He’s a tremendous pitching package,” Nationals acting general manager Mike Rizzo said. “We weren’t going to pass on the best player in the draft.”

Signing him might be a major challenge, because agent Scott Boras is sure to seek a record contract that easily exceeds the $10.5 million Mark Prior received after he was drafted in 2001.

Teams have until Aug. 15 to sign draft choices, otherwise they lose their rights.

Locally, Bishop Verot High School graduate Bobby Borchering became the first Lee County baseball player selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Borchering, 18, was chosen No. 16 overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The switch-hitting third baseman was considered by most draft experts as one of the top hitting prospects coming out of high school. As a senior, he hit .494 with 13 home runs and 37 RBI.

The 6-foot-4 Borchering earned Gatorade’s Florida Player of the Year Award this past season.

Strasburg leads Division I pitchers with 195 strikeouts in 109 innings this year, and was the only amateur on the U.S. Olympic team that won a bronze medal in Beijing last summer. He struck out 23 in a game against Utah last season and threw a no-hitter with 17 Ks against Air Force this year.

Strasburg went undrafted out of high school, but some think he has the ability to go straight from college to the big leagues.

With the second pick, the Seattle Mariners chose North Carolina slugger Dustin Ackley, who has batted at least .400 for three consecutive seasons.

Also represented by Boras, Ackley has 22 home runs and 70 RBI this year, helping North Carolina earn its fourth straight trip to the College World Series, which begins this weekend.

Ackley played mostly first base for the Tar Heels as he recovered from elbow ligament replacement surgery this season, but his impressive speed makes him a candidate to switch to center field as a pro.

The San Diego Padres grabbed high school outfielder Donavan Tate at No. 3.

Eleven of the first 15 picks were pitchers, considered the strength of this unpredictable draft class. Eight in a row went from Nos. 5-12.

Pittsburgh went for Boston College catcher Tony Sanchez, a late bloomer, and Baltimore chose high school right-hander Matt Hobgood out of California.

San Francisco took another righty, Zack Wheeler out of East Paulding High School in Georgia. The Giants picked right before his hometown Atlanta Braves.