We’re approaching Memorial Day and are already about a quarter of the way through the baseball regular season. Some players historically take a while to get going, and some start off blazing hot and then cool off. Here we take a look at five pleasant surprises, and five busts through the first 40 or so games of the 2009 season.

Top 5 Suprises

1. Zack Greinke, SP, Kansas City Royals—One of the reasons the Royals are off to a great start is that Greinke has found his rhythm, to the tune of 7-1 with a 0.82 ERA, as well as 73 strikeouts and 12 walks in just 66 innings. Greinke has given up a microscopic six earned runs so far. Six! It’s not like the kid wasn’t talented, but his career record before 2009 was 34-45 and his ERA 3.96.

2. Jason Bartlett, SS, Tampa Bay Rays—Before this season, Bartlett was a career .285 hitter with 16 career home runs. So far this season, he’s off to a wicked start–.376 batting average, 6 homers, 23 RBI, 9 doubles, 12 stolen bases and an OPS of 1.004.

3. Raul Ibanez, OF, Philadelphia Phillies—This is looking like the free agent signing of the off-season. Or maybe coming over to the world champs from soggy Seattle was a good move. Ibanez was a respectable .288 hitter and was averaging 22 homers and 95 RBI, but so far in 2009 he’s hit 15 home runs and driven in 40 runs, while hitting .349 with 10 doubles, 4 stolen bases and a .724 slugging percentage. You think the Mets should have made a run at the guy instead of wasting all that money on P Ollie Perez?

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Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman is reporting that the Washington Nationals will select San Diego State University pitcher Stephen Strasburg with the #1 overall pick in next month’s MLB amateur draft.

The feeling in baseball was that the Nationals might be scared off by the set negotiation price of $50-million-plus from Strasburg’s adviser Scott Boras to secure the youngster’s signature on a contract. But that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore within the organization.

Acting Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo wouldn’t guarantee who he’s taking, but said regarding Strasburg when reached by phone, “It’s fair to say, going into it, he’s the No. 1 player on our board. We can say it. There’s not anybody who can jump ahead of us.” Rizzo added. “He’s an outstanding talent. He’s got all the tools to be a great player.”
Rizzo wouldn’t absolutely commit since the draft is a month away. But he did say, “As of now, he’s the top guy.”

The Nats remain one of the worst teams in baseball, and recently brought up young pitchers Shairon Martis and Jordan Zimmerman to gain major league experience in their starting rotation. Their hope for Strasburg is to join their rotation by July; scouts project him to be major-league ready coming out of college. Strasburg is 10-0 with 147 strikeouts and 15 walks for SDSU this season.