NL East

The first month of the 2014 MLB season is just about to wrap up.

For the Atlanta Braves (17-7), it's the second season in a row they've jumped out to an early-season lead in the division thanks to a hot April. The Braves hold a 3.5-game lead over the New York Mets, which is the same as their lead over the Washington Nationals this time a year ago.

Now that the first month of the major league baseball season is in the books, it's time to take a look at some early report cards for the New York Mets' acquisitions made during the offseason.

Let's take a look:

Bartolo Colon (Starting Pitcher)

Grade: C

Bryce Harper and the Washington Nationals came into the 2014 season showered with predictions of October glory.

The Washington Nationals' Bryce Harper was benched for not running out a ground ball in a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on April 19. The 21-year-old Harper has been criticized for maturity issues in his three years in the majors. Should the Nationals be worried about this latest incident?

Yes, it's early on in the 2014 regular season. And, yes, there's still lots of baseball to play—a whole summer, in fact.

But in a big market like New York, team officials are always being looked at through a microscope and every step, every movement, is watched with great intensity. It's just the nature of the beast that is the Big Apple.

It was rough for a while there, but it looks like our long Nationals nightmare may finally be over.

Yes, Bryce Harper looks like he's back.

The New York Mets System Check video offers a quick overview of the team's farm system, addressing its strengths and weaknesses and how it can improve moving forward. The video also provides a breakdown of the Mets’ top prospects for 2014, Noah Syndergaard, Travis d’Arnaud and Rafael Montero, including each player's ETA in the major leagues and potential long-term role within the organization.

As the minor league season begins let’s take a look at the Braves prospect depth at each position. Atlanta uses its minor league system as much as any other major league team. The Braves didn't open the season with one or two rookies in the bullpen; they opened up with three rookies playing important roles in the bullpen—Gus Schlosser, Ian Thomas and Ryan Buchter. 

The first week of the 2014 MLB season is in the books, with the Atlanta Braves (4-2) taking two of three in both series against the Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Nationals.

We can often take too much away from the first week of the season and fail to let the entire 162-game schedule play out before jumping to conclusions.

The New York Mets need to adjust their philosophy on how to build a major league bullpen, and that starts with transitioning some of their starting pitching depth into relievers.