This was a fantastic week for baseball fans. We're in the midst of an explosion of outstanding talent.

To me the most remarkable aspect of Stephen Strasburg's amazing performance Tuesday night was his "way beyond his years" mound presence. He was a calm and collected customer after the first batter. Since I saw him in the Arizona Fall League he has refined his breaking pitches and he isn't afraid to use that "slurve" at any point in the count. He was so good that he fooled the home plate umpire on several occasions.

Congrats to Delwyn Young for taking Strasburg deep on a 90+ mile an hour change-up. It shows that hitters can hit pitcher's mistakes. Every pitcher will make at least one mistake a game. Some they get away with, others they don't.

Michael Stanton's debut didn't get as much hype. But he had one whale of a game. He has all the tools to be a mega-star. I rate him as a 70+ in the hitting categories on a normal scouting rating scale that goes from 40-80. Besides hitting for average and power, Stanton can run, play defense and he has a strong and accurate arm.

Jose Tabata, while not in the superstar category is a very good potential regular for the Pirates. He made his debut yesterday and he hit the ball very well. He is someone I believe will be streaky over the course of his career but he might make a good outfield option for you to target. But don't count on too much.

Pitchers are pounding the outside of the plate on Justin Upton and he isn?t adjusting.
He and teammate Mark Reynolds have now each struck out 80 times each. Ouch!
They have both left a ton of men on base.

I can't believe the discipline Jason Heyward has at the plate. He's playing like a 10 year veteran.

Welcome to the big leagues Buster Posey. He has made quite a splash. It makes us wonder if he should have started the season at first base for the Giants instead of Aubrey Huff?

It certainly looks like David Price is the ace of the Rays pitching staff.

So far the Angels have resisted the trade route for a first base replacement for Kendry Morales. Lots of candidates are lurking about. The most intriguing may be Lance Berkman of the Astros. But the Angels really don't have a history of making trades. So far they are fairly happy with Mike Napoli filling in. It wouldn't surprise me to see Howie Kendrick at first with Maicer Izturis moving to second full time. Just a thought.

Pat Burrell? Please. The Giants pitchers deserve better. It seems they have to throw a shutout or very, very low scoring game to win.

I've never been a huge Matt LaPorta fan, but the way the Indians have handled him is really confusing. If you aren't going anywhere in the standings, let the guy play.

Shouldn't Brennan Boesch get big time consideration for AL Rookie Of The Year?

Adam Everett is one helluva defensive shortstop. He just can't hit. When he was with the Astros he was almost an automatic out. So the bottom of their batting order with Brad Ausmus, Everett and the pitcher meant the other team was pitching against 6 guys. Wonder why they lost so many games? He didn't hit in Detroit either. But man can he play defense.

Watching the Diamondbacks bullpen is painful. It's a real shame that the starting pitchers work 6 good innings, leave with a lead and the pen blows the game.
Juan Gutierrez is the biggest culprit. But there are others as well.

I was really, really high on the Reds in spring training. I'm even more amped about them now. The pitching is for real and they can hit. I'm not saying they?ll win it all, but I'm saying they are a team on the rise. And Aroldis Chapman isn't even there yet. Mike Leake is the real deal.

Readers of my work will remember me asking this question: One and two and then who? I was talking about the Mariners batting order and pitching rotation during my spring training reports. Talk about Great Expectations. Not from this scout. I still don't know how they got the national buzz as a contender. I feel sorry for Ichiro.

They're starting to show up on big league rosters; Strasburg, Stanton, Tabata, Posey, Tillman, Heyward, Storen, Leake. The next crop of Santana, Scheppers, Chapman, Wallace, Jennings, and many more will add even more excitement to the end of the season. And we're still waiting for Julio Borbon, Tex, Prince, the Uptons, Lind, Greinke, Felix the Cat, VMart, Aramis and Z to wake up. Most will be there by the end of July. Most. I have my doubts about the Uptons.

Martin Prado is an All Star. The guy can just flat out hit. Doesn't get much pub. Just goes out and hits.

Think contending teams will come calling for Greinke and Haren? Remember the boat load of players the DBacks gave up for Danny Haren? Think they could use Brett Anderson or Carlos Gonzalez or Seth Smith or ... Now is it some other team's turn to pony up for Haren? And how about Cliff Lee? Will the Yanks be calling Seattle? If they don't get him now they can wait until he walks. Cause he's walkin'.

It's a great time for us to be watching baseball and managing our fantasy teams. There are new stars in the galaxy and every day brings new excitement. Enjoy.