NL East

The 2014 Philadelphia Phillies are a confounding baseball team, stuck between a successful past and a bleak future. In the present, a mediocre potential contender has emerged due to the parity engulfing the National League East.

The Washington Nationals have lost Gio Gonzalez for the next few weeks.

Rehab timelines aren't very flexible. Physical therapists work through a protocol and when an athlete can do all the necessary tasks, they move on to the next one. If they can't, they repeat. Where things get a bit more flexible is once an athlete is past the rehab timeline and into the return timeline.

The Atlanta Braves will look to bolster their farm system and find future help at the MLB level in a few weeks when the 2014 MLB draft gets underway.

The Braves could go a number of different directions with the No. 32 overall pick in the compensation round acquired from the Brian McCann deal.

Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is currently on the disabled list with a broken thumb, but when he comes back, he may no longer be "Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals third baseman."

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Miami Marlins have a 20-18 record, good for third place in the National League East. However, they could be losing one of their biggest stars.

The Washington Nationals are 20-9 in Stephen Strasburg's last 29 starts as a road favorite, which is important to consider when making your MLB picks Tuesday, as they take on the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

Sports bettors will find that the Nationals are 10/13 favorites in the pro baseball odds, with the betting total sitting at eight in the market.

With nearly a quarter of the 2014 Major League Baseball season expired, the Washington Nationals sit two games over .500 and in second place in the National League East.

The good news, despite trailing the Atlanta Braves, is that the Nationals' deficit in the division is just 1.5 games. 

The Miami Marlins got quite the shock on Monday. Jose Fernandez was sent to Los Angeles for an MRI to check his elbow. According to Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network, the diagnosis was a sprained elbow. That diagnosis specifically points to UCL involvement. The UCL is the ligament replaced in Tommy John surgery.

On Tuesday, it will be 11 months to the day since Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper uttered his famous "That's a clown question, bro" response to a reporter during a game in Toronto. The response ultimately turned into a pop-culture reference, as well as a line of Under Armour T-shirts. Almost a year later, the 21-year-old is still willing to laugh about it.