Although a lot of the familiar faces are hitting the cover off the ball in the National League East -- guys like Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, David Wright, Milton Bradley and Jose Reyes -- there is a sudden power surge for two unfamiliar faces.

Former teammates and now division-rivals

Chris Marrero and Michael Burgess have made seamless transitions to their respectice major league clubs, the Marlins for Marrero and the Nationals for Burgess, and have left many major league pitchers in their wake.

Marrero, whos 19 homeruns is second in the iMLB right now, already has a six-for-six game in his back pocket, as well as a Player of the Month award, as he ripped eight homeruns and had 20 RBIs while batting .441 in the month of April. The Miami native is also in the top five in slugging percentage, OPS, and walks. Not bad for a kid who couldn't sip on a beer 11 months ago.

Burgess, who hasn't quite had the impact that Marrero has, is still sending chills up opposing pitcher's backs. The 22-year-old has belted 13 homeruns, drove in 39 runs and is hitting at a .311 clip. The numbers are even more impressive given the fact that Burgess's protection, the usually solid, but always combustible, Elijah Dukes has been abysmal at the plate so far this year, hitting . 218 with five homeruns this year.

Although the two spent nearly the first 20 years of their lives separated by only a few hundred miles, they couldn't have taken a more opposite approach to the major leagues. Burgess grew up in Tampa, Florida, while Marrero was raised four hours south in Miami. In 2006, Marrero, an outfielder, was drafted in the first round by the Washington Nationals, and a year later, the Nationals drafted Burgess, a first baseman/outfielder, with a first round pick.

So began what the two thought would be a shared journey to the majors through the Nationals minor league system.

Then came Marrero's back and forth trip across America. In the summer of 2009, Marrero was the centerpiece in a trade to the Los Angeles Angels for former All-Star Nick Markakis. Five months later, Marrero moved down the bay when the Angels dealt him as part of a package to the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Before Marrero could take a step into Chavez Ravine, he was deal back across the map to the Tampa Bay Rays as part of the huge David Price/Clayton Kershaw deal. Marrero finally completed his full-circle journey throughout the doldrums of minor league baseball when the Rays deal him to his hometown Florida Marlins along with Jeff Niemann in exchange for Taylor Tankersley and Michael Stanton.

The year-long odyssey left the former teammates as division rivals, as Burgess continued through the Nationals' minor league system. and both have led to a resurgence by their respective clubs, which have been the doormats of the East for the last half-decade.

Through very similar pasts but vastly different journeys, Marrero and Burgess have arrived in the major leagues, and it doesn't look promising for the pitchers of the National League East.