NL East

Forget about Stephen Strasburg—Bryce Harper is the hottest thing in baseball now. His bat has been compared to the late, great Ted Williams and he might be the most hyped prospect of all-time.

It is hard to say whether or not Harper is ready to break into the bigs. Last season, he played in junior college and the year before that, he was still in high school.

Do you think that Bryce Harper is ready for the show? I don’t think he is quite there. If the Nationals are smart, they will wait until they call Harper up to the majors.

It’s a fickle life in Major League Baseball. Here today, gone tomorrow is a phrase often used when referring to ballplayers who had a quick run of success before seemingly losing it altogether, or players felled by injuries who were unable to make it all the way back.

The stories of great fame and then injury go back many years in baseball, especially among pitchers. Dizzy Dean was a classic example.

Known as the Ace of the Gashouse Gang for the St. Louis Cardinals, Dean was the last pitcher to win 30 games in the National League, reaching that mark in 1934.

I am really fascinated by this Oliver Perez situation.

The NL East had quite the shake up this off-season. Cliff Lee returned to the city of brotherly love, Dan Uggla jumped ship and was traded to a team in the same division and the Nationals are trying to become relevant.

The East usually is one of, if not the toughest division in the National League and this year will be no different. 

Will these big summer acquisitions shake up the East and could there be a change of power at the top? With a long season ahead, it will be interesting to see how things shake out.

Heading into spring training, the Washington Nationals appeared to have four players who were capable of being quality every-day major league catchers.

And three games into the Grapefruit League schedule, nothing has changed.

Earlier this week, the Mets officially announced that Carlos Beltran would make the full-time switch to right field for the 2011 season, paving the way for Angel Pagan to become the team's full-time center fielder.

The move had been widely speculated, given Beltran's surgically repaired knee and Pagan's 2010 performance.

One of the youngest and deepest divisions in baseball, the NL East will have its share of drama and races throughout the season.  Will the New York Mets finally get over the hump and have a good season?  Do the young Florida Marlins or Atlanta Braves have the chance to take a run at the division crown?  Are the Washington Nationals ready to take a big step forward?

These are all very interesting points, but one other question may be the most important of all: Do the Philadelphia Phillies have the division locked up before a game is even played?

The New York Mets saw a lot of things to like from their pitchers in a 3-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals today.

Oliver Perez, looking to earn a spot in the starting rotation, tossed two scoreless innings, and closer Francisco Rodriguez, in his first spring action, added a scoreless inning of his own.

After Jayson Werth's departure, a seriously intense battle was expected to ensue this spring over the right field starting position.  However, the first few weeks have been a total disappointment for Phillies' top prospect, Domonic Brown.

The New York Mets defeated the St. Louis Cardinals today 3-0 behind RBI from David Wright, Ike Davis and Daniel Murphy.

Murphy, making his first start at second base this Spring, finished the game 1-for-3 and looked good in the field. He didn't commit an error but didn't get an opportunity to turn a double play. Murphy is one of four players competing to win the job at second base.