Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper are the future of the Washington Nationals. 

Strasburg will be the ace of a formidable starting rotation for years to come, and Bryce Harper will anchor the outfield and the lineup with his five-tool talent. The future is in good hands. 

Here are seven reasons why the Washington Nationals need to quickly sign both players to long-term contracts to ensure the successful future of the franchise.

Adam Wainwright has gotten off to a pretty rough start this season, posting an ERA of 5.77 prior to Tuesday's action.

After Tuesday night's contest against the Padres though, it's safe to say that his ERA will see a nice drop.

Wainwright pitched a shutout against the Padres, throwing just 111 pitches over nine innings while allowing just five baserunners—four hits and one walk. He also struck out nine.

As a devoted Detroit Tigers fan and follower, I probably should not be discussing the Cleveland Indians. But sometimes my love for the greater game of baseball takes precedence over my own biases.

Tuesday night's victory over the Atlanta Braves proved to be an encouraging sign for the Cincinnati Reds.

The 2012 MLB season is about to hit the quarter mark, and a lot of teams who were considered "playoff contenders" are still struggling to find their footing.

A lot of baseball fans are counting out the Phillies, Yankees, Red Sox, Angels and Tigers, but be warned, there's a ton of baseball left to play, and all five of these teams will lean on their experience to pull through in the end.

Yet more worrying news came out of the Cincinnati Reds camp today.

At the quarter pole of the 2012 season, the Philadelphia Phillies find themselves in unfamiliar territory—staring up at the rest of the National League East.  And while the Phightins are off to their slowest start in the last five years, there's still reason to believe Philadelphia can claim its sixth consecutive division crown.  

Here are five good reasons to believe.

The San Diego Padres stand as the worst injury-bitten team in Major League Baseball. Mark Kotsay becomes the latest player to be added to the injured list, as the Los Angeles Angels make the 90-minute drive further south in California to visit the Padres Saturday night.

In the offseason, with Ryan Howard out for an extended period of time, the Philadelphia Phillies grabbed Jim Thome for $1.25 million. 

That experiment has run its course, and it’s time for the club to part ways with the aging bat.

Here are six reasons why:

1.  He’s hurt

The signing of Vladimir Guerrero comes as a low-risk/high-reward move for the Toronto Blue Jays.  He was signed to a one-year deal worth $1.3 million, which will be prorated based on his time with the club this season. 

At 37 years of age, it remains to be seen how much Vladdy has to offer.

He is probably Hall of Fame bound as he is a career .318 hitter with 449 home runs and 1,496 RBI.