Let’s take a look at what’s been going on around Major League Baseball as of late. (Note: This article was written on June 11th.)

Stephen Strasburg exceeded the hype in his first big-league start, which is amazing. The Nationals phenom mowed down the Pirates, fanning 14 batters in seven innings on his way to his first Major League win. The rookie hurler was nearly unhittable, making one mistake to Delwyn Young that was hit into the seats for the Pirates’ only two runs on the night. Tadacip Strasburg mania is in full swing already, and people are already buying up MLB tickets for games in which he’s scheduled to start.

In other call-up news, the Marlins brought up slugger Mike Stanton this week. Stanton has been mashing in the minors this season and is leading professional baseball in home runs in 2010. He’s got amazing raw power and a body to match. It looks like fellow youngster Cameron Maybin will lose some playing time and could be optioned to AAA to get some work, but Chris Coghlan could also lose some time if the Fish decide to keep Maybin in the bigs and rotate their outfield.

The Cleveland Indians have announced that they’re bringing up top catching prospect Carlos Santana, not to be confused with the guitar-playing music legend. Santana has been crushing the ball in the minors this season, netting an OPS over 1.000, and should provide instant offense for Levitra the Tribe. His defense is not great, but he’s shown improvement over the past few weeks.

Sticking with young catchers, Buster Posey continues to rake in the Bay. San Fran’s backstop is hitting .444 through 12 games and blasted his first home run this week. Don’t expect him to hit .400 this year or anything, but he appears to be ready to contribute in the bigs.

Cardinals youngster Colby Rasmus was tearing the cover off the ball before injuring his calf last weekend. He’s set to return this weekend and he’s definitely a player to keep an eye on. He’s hitting for average and showing solid power and speed. He’s a post-hype guy that appears to be blooming.

Tampa Bay’s David Price became the first hurler in the American League to nine wins this week. The former number one overall pick is having a fantastic 2010 season after a disappointing campaign in 2009. As of now, he’s the frontrunner to start the All-Star Game for the AL.

The Red Sox are back in the race in the AL East now that their pitching has come around. The Sox have one of the best rotations in the majors, but they took a while to settle in this season. Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester have been absolutely fantastic and should be a deadly one-two punch for years to come.

The Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds are surprising a lot of people, as they both lead their respective divisions. The Braves are doing it with a solid balance of offense and defense, while the Reds can score runs with the best of them. Both of these clubs are on the rise, though they may not be ready to hurdle the Phils and Cards for good just yet.
The Dodgers are in first place and one could argue that they’ve been the best team in baseball over the past month. Their pitching has finally come around and they’ve got one of the more potent lineups in baseball. Chad Billingsley’s turnaround has been paramount to the team’s success of late.

The Mariners are reportedly considering shopping Cliff Lee already. The team acquired Lee in the offseason with the hope that he’d put them over the top in the AL West. Lee has been phenomenal this season, despite starting the year on the DL, but the rest of the club has struggled mightily, especially at the plate.

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