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The youngest team in the National League, the Arizona Diamondbacks, is also the best team in the National League. And with the recent additions of two hard throwing pitchers - one veteran (Randy Johnson) and one rookie (Max Scherzer) - they are only going to get better. GM Josh Byrnes has put together a formidable team which is going to be tough to beat this season and he has put them together the old fashioned way.

Of the current 25 men on the active roster, all but three came through the system or acquired via trades. Only one player, Eric Byrnes, was signed the typical free agency route.

With the majors' best record at 19-8, the Diamondbacks are 5 ½ games ahead of the second place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. And the D'Backs are winning with a young, powerful hitting lineup and tremendous pitching by their top three starters, most of who were drafted and developed by the club. The teams' first round picks in 2003 through 2006, Conor Jackson, Stephen Drew, Justin Upton and Scherzer are all on the major league team.

Arizona is third in the NL in home runs with 34, led by third baseman Mark Reynolds with 7 dingers and his 24 RBI's, and third in league batting with a .265 average. The 24 year old Reynolds is a 16^th round draft pick out of the University of Virginia, and backed up Ryan Zimmerman, third basemen for the Washington Nationals, for a year at school. Jackson, finally healthy after several years of nagging injuries, is hitting .341 and tied with Reynolds for the team lead in RBI's. The only negative is that Arizona's hitters have struck out a whopping 196 times. But, throughout baseball history, tremendous power gives way to swings and misses.

But, while the D'Back hitters have done their job, the pitching staff is working overtime...and making good money. The team ERA is a league leading 3.14 with the starters garnering 17 of the teams 19 wins. Number one starter, Brandon Webb, the 2006 Cy Young award winner, is carrying over his dominance from last year with a 6-0 record and 1.98, recently outdueling last year's Cy Young winner Jake Peavy. It was only the fourth time in MLB history that a starting pitcher was 6-0 by the end of April. The other two pitcher were Dave Stewart of the 1988 Oakland A's and Randy Johnson, who did it twice - for these same Diamondbacks.

Johnson is also back with the team after undergoing back surgery in the off season. While Johnson does not have the 98 MPH fastball of years past, his trademark slider is still getting major leaguers to swing and miss. In his last start, Johnson won his 285^th career game. Most importantly, there is no recurrence of the back injury which limited him to only 10 starts last season.

Recently acquired Dan Haren has quietly gone 4-1 with a 3.13 ERA while Micah Owings, who doubles as possibly the best hitting pitcher of his time is 4-0. Despite a shaky first week, the closer Brandon Lyon is unscathed in his last 10 outings, saving 7 straight games. More importantly, the D'Backs are 13-1 in Lyon's 14 appearances.

But, what is scary about this franchise is that only two position players are over 30 and besides the 44 year old Johnson, the entire starting pitching staff is 29 (Webb) and younger. The only starting pitcher not pulling his weight is Edgar Gonzalez, who was replaced in the third inning of his start last night to be replaced by the 2006 1^st round pick Scherzer. All Scherzer did was set a major league record by retiring the first 13 batters he has faced in the major leagues, throwing lots of strikes with his 98 MPH fastball.

While some have speculated that Scherzer's stuff is best suited for the bullpen, talk has now ensued whether Scherzer will step right into the rotation. Although he did not win a game this season in his 4 minor league starts, he did strikeout 38 in 23 innings with a 1.17 ERA. If the Arizona bullpen continues to thrive, Scherzer will make a formidable 5^th starter on a team which already has the best starting staff in the National League. The Diamondbacks like Scherzer not just because of his stuff, but when he was sent down tothe minors before the season, management told Scherzer to work on his changeup and slider. And he did.

Good talent and a great work ethic - a tough combination to beat.

The Diamondbacks are young, but play like veterans and, after last season's NLDS win over the Chicago Cubs, almost all the players have tasted postseason success. GM Josh Byrnes should be highly commended for putting together such a talented team, the old fashioned way of drafting and developing players and making shrewd trades - the way it is supposed to be done.

Unless injuries decimate the team during the regular season, look for the Diamondbacks to be a very tough out during the 2008 postseason because of their dominant pitching and power hitting.

To the detriment and despair of the rest of the National League.