NL Central

Gerrit Cole showed the MLB why the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted him No. 1 overall in the 2011 MLB Draft, dominating the San Francisco Giants for 6.1 innings on Tuesday night.

Pitch counts, innings limit...they're all terms we've heard over the last year.

From Stephen Strasburg to various rookies in the big leagues for the first time, managers and general managers alike have taken an interest in saving the arms of their young players.

Player: Jeremy Martinez

Drafted by: Chicago Cubs (No. 1,098 overall)

Position: C

DOB: 12/29/1994 (Age: 18)

Height/Weight: 5’11”/200 lbs

Bats/Throws: R/R

It's a debut many Pittsburgh Pirates fans have anxiously been awaiting since the 2011 MLB draft.

Top right-handed pitching prospect Gerrit Cole will finally make his MLB debut Tuesday night against the San Francisco Giants, according to the Pirates' official Twitter account:

With the MLB First-Year Player Draft set to kick off Thursday evening, the St. Louis Cardinals are no doubt busy with their own mock drafts.

From the sound of things, the Milwaukee Brewers are going to hold a yard sale and one of the items up for grabs on the front lawn will be Yovani Gallardo.

With the Cincinnati Reds being one of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball in the month of May, Joey Votto is one of many players on the team who received excellent grades for the month.

The Reds went 19-8 in the month of May and actually lost a game in the standings to the St. Louis Cardinals. 

The Cardinals have had a pretty amazing May to say the least. In fact, they have had the best record in Major League Baseball for a while now. And they couldn't have gotten there without the performances of each individual player.

By comparing each major player's statistics from the past 28 days to their 2012 numbers, I've attempted to measure their success against what is expected of them. 

Led by the hitting approach of Joey Votto, experience of Dusty Baker and energy of Shin-Soo Choo, the Cincinnati Reds are steamrolling National League competition, taking the second-best record in baseball into play on Tuesday.

Of course, success shouldn't be new to this group of Reds.

Despite the constant criticism from fans, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mike Leake has started the 2013 Major League Baseball season on fire.

Fans were disappointed with his 8-9 record and 4.58 ERA in 2012, but he has put last year behind him.