At the start of the year, if you were ranking the six MLB divisions from most to least compelling, well, let's just say the National League East would not have been at the top of the list. The Nationals, it appeared, were too good, while the Mets were too injury prone, the Phillies and Braves were too young, and the Marlins were too trade-ravaged to be anything other than witnesses to Washington's excellence.
It's early, yes, but some surprises have emerged for all of these clubs to help make the NL East perhaps more compelling than advertised. Here, we're going to stick to the pleasant surprises (one for each club), if only to demonstrate that -- whether it's a team bound for first or last -- there's some good stuff happening in the early going.