Strasburg said Thursday he is not planning to change the style that made him the No. 1 pick in the amateur draft and earned him a $15.1 million contract with the Nationals.

"A lot of college pitchers live on the outer half (of the plate), but I was able to be successful on the inner half in college," Strasburg said from a dugout at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. "I'm going to keep trying to do it at this level. That's where you make your money, on the inside part (of the plate). When hitters get comfortable, that's when you get in trouble."

Strasburg went 13-1 in his final season at San Diego State. Since then, he has pitched five innings in the Florida Instructional League, three of them in Kissimmee on Saturday.

"I'm looking forward to being able to pitch in a game with a little bit on the line," said Strasburg, who will face the Scottsdale Scorpions— a team of high-level minor league prospects. "It's been a pretty long time since I've been able to do that."

Strasburg said he expects to throw about four innings, depending on his pitch count. Nationals minor league pitching coach Paul Menhart is working with Strasburg on the Desert Dogs.

"Washington has completely scheduled and mapped out his six weeks here," Phoenix manager Gary Cathcart said. "We're trying to let him get into a routine as a pitcher and hopefully not have many distractions. We want to do everything we can to keep the circus away from him, let him do his thing and be a teammate."

Strasburg, who enjoyed his summer in San Diego, taking time to play golf and go deep-sea fishing, said he's up for the expectations off the field as well as on it.

"It's been a little crazy the first few days — a lot of fans, a lot of autographs," he said. "But it's great just to be able to bring some excitement to the Fall League. It just goes with the territory. If it means I have to do a lot of stuff on the side to promote a program or an organization, that's great, as long as I get to help the team win some ballgames some day."

Enlarge By Tim Shortt, AP Stephen Strasburg, the No. 1 pick in the amateur draft by the Nationals, went 13-1 in his final season at San Diego State.