9 Surprise Contenders

Baltimore Orioles-Coming off the heels of a 93 loss season they find themselves atop the AL East, tied with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Give credit to: skipper Buck Showalter, nucleus hitting its prime, Adam Jones doing his Matt Kemp impression, Matt Wieters continuing to build on his strong second half, Chris Davis finally starting to realize his potential, Jason Hammel pitching way better than Jeremy Guthrie (what the hell?), and the entire bullpen--especially closer Jim Johnson, who's been stingier than Mariano Rivera

Chicago White Sox-Just rode a nine game winning streak to the top of the AL Central

Give credit to: Comeback players, Robin Ventura being much easier to play for than Ozzie Guillen, A.J. Pierzynski's unlikely power resurgence, Dayan Viciedo's breakthrough, Paul Konerko getting better with age, Adam Dunn becoming Adam Dunn again, Gordon Beckham starting to figure it out, Alex Rios rebounding, Jake Peavy replacing Mark Buehrle at the top of the rotation by pitching like it's 2008, Chris Sale backing him up

Cincinnati Reds-Leading the NL Central and looking like the division champs from 2010, not the sub-.500 disappointments from last year

Give credit to: Preseason MVP Joey Votto in full beast mode, Jay Bruce doing his thing, Brandon Phillips recovering from slow start, Todd Frazier stepping up for an injured Scott Rolen, Johnny Cueto reproducing last season's success, Bronson Arroyo bouncing back, phenomenal relief corps anchored by flamethrower Aroldis Chapman

Cleveland Indians-Finished a distant second place last year with a sub-.500 record, but are back in second and find themselves within shouting distance of first

Give credit to: Jason Kipnis busting out, Shin-Soo Choo responding well to new role as leadoff hitter, Derek Lowe on his game, Vinnie Pestano and Chris Perez shutting the door at the end of ballgames

Los Angeles Dodgers-After a 41-28 second half surge in 2011, they have the best record in all of baseball

Give credit to: SPEED (not the drug), Don Mattingly steady as she goes, A.J. Ellis picking up the slack offensively, Matt Kemp's monster April, Andre Ethier piling up RBI, Bobby Abreu's rejuvenation, a deep bench, a killer starting rotation led by Clayton Kershaw but highlighted by one-time All-Star Chris Capuano, Kenley Janssen looking like the next Craig Kimbrel

Miami Marlins-Are within a whisker of first place after shelling out big bucks for Buehrle, Reyes, and Heath Bell last winter

Give credit to: Deep pockets, new ballpark, Omar Infante's puzzling power binge, Hanley Ramirez rediscovering his stroke, Giancarlo Stanton's light tower power, Carlos Zambrano loving his new digs, Josh Johnson pitching back into form

New York Mets-Sacrificed Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes in the name of drastic budget cuts, but have defied expectations by winning more games than the other team that calls the Big Apple home

Give credit to: solid double play duo in Daniel Murphy/Ruben Tejada, David Wright playing like an MVP again, Lucas Duda's legit power, Scott Hairston on fire, Johan Santana tossing the first no-hitter in franchise history, R.A. Dickey's utter dominance

Pittsburgh Pirates-2nd place in the NL Central with a lineup that ranks dead last in the NL in scoring

Give credit to: Andrew McCutchen quietly playing like a superstar, Pedro Alvarez showing signs of life, the rock solid Garrett Jones, James McDonald forcing his way into the Cy Young conversation, A.J. Burnett enjoying the National League, Erik Bedard staying healthy (knock on wood), an elite bullpen

Washington Nationals-All that young talent, represented by back to back #1 picks in Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper, is maturing and allowing Washington to make the leap to the top of their division despite missing Michael Morse, Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth for extended periods of time

Give credit to: Youth, Pitching (you really can never have enough) Adam LaRoche shirking off a lost 2011, Ian Desmond showing surprising pop, rookie callup Harper providing a much needed spark in the lineup (#plate discipline, hustle and swag), a superb pitching staff top to bottom (Henry Rodriguez is the only one not pulling his weight)