Stud Rookies Join the Ranks of the NL East Today

Jayson Heyward is considered to be the front runner for Rookie of the Year – and for good reason. His .266/10/39 stat line is impressive for a 20-year old. His legend grew in his first ever at-bat as he swatted a long home run on Opening Day.

Ike Davis is being hailed as the Mets savior. The 23-year-old has quietly become a budding star in a big city, instantly gaining that status by playing solid defense and helping right the middle of the order for New York. Matt Cerrone of Metsblog.com says Davis “Doesn’t seem like a rookie at all. He’s very poised for such a young player.”

Today, two more heralded rooks will bring their game to the Majors. Both have an outstanding pedigree, both are looked at as the future of their respective franchises.

In Philly, Mike Stanton will be unveiled after belting 21 homers at Double-A.  There was no where else to go but the Florida Marlins starting lineup. He’s also just 20, but brings with him a forceful bat that the Phillies will be seeing for a long, long time.

Down in Washington, at a time where the BP oil disaster is wreaking havoc, and a day after the team selected young masher Bryce Harper with the 1st pick in the MLB Draft, flame thrower Stephen Strasburg will make his Major League debut tonight against the Pirates.  Strasburg bulldozed through Double-A and Triple-A this season, going a combined 7-2 with 65 strikeouts in just 55 1/3 innings.

With those four budding superstars all commencing on the National League East at the same time, the division will never be the same.  Each have a chance to be special and will each be looked upon to change the direction of their franchise (Davis and Stanton a little less so because of David Wright and Hanley Ramirez).

Here in Philly, we’re waiting on our own future-changer, Domonic Brown.  Yesterday, Corey Seidman wrote a very engaging piece on why Raul Ibanez should be let go. The odds of that at this time are very slim, the Phillies believe Ibanez still has plenty left in the tank, however, he makes a solid argument. Waiting in the wings is Brown who is tearing up the Eastern League in Double-A.

Is it time for a youth movement in the outfield here at home as well?  The rest of the NL East is doing it – are the Phillies far behind?  Regardless, we’ll be seeing a lot of these four rookies for the next decade. Heyward and Davis you know.  Strasburg and Stanton, you’ll get to know.

And perhaps sometime soon, we’ll be seeing our very own burgeoning star. The NL East is in very good shape for quite a while with this youth movement.