One month down and five to go! The first month of the 2008 baseball seaon is complete and there were more than a few surprises. The Orioles and Rays are competing for the top spot in the AL East while the White Sox hold the lead in the Central. Over in the senior circuit the Marlins are in first place and the Cardinals got off to a great start. There has also been numerous players that got off to a hot start. Here is a look at the best performances around the league.

Two years ago Brandon Webb won the Cy Young Award with 16 victories, a 3.10 ERA and 178 strikeouts. He followed that up with 18 wins, a 3.01 ERA and 194 strikeouts last year, but watched Jake Peavy walk away with the CYA. This year he wants it back. Webb has won all six of his starts for the Diamonbacks and owns a 1.98 ERA while striking out 34 batters. No one has been better than Webb in the NL.

It took an outing against the Royals for last year's AL Cy Young winner to get things straight. C.C. Sabathia has gotten off to a horrible start with just one win and a 7.88 ERA. But all is not lost in Cleveland. The best pitcher in the AL so far this season is another member of the Tribe - Cliff Lee. After battling for a job in spring training, Lee has had an amazing April. He won all five of his starts while posting a major league best 0.96 ERA and striking out 32. And he has only walked two batters. Amazing!  

Another incredible story is that of Josh Hamilton. After falling out of baseball for a few years - and nearly falling out of society - Hamilton made a fantastic comeback with the Reds last year. Now with the Rangers, he is continuing his turnaround. Hamilton leads the majors with 32 RBI. He also has six home runs and posted a .330 average in the month of April.

There are 13 players that hit at least seven home runs last month. And only two of those players are in the AL. In other words, if you are looking for power it can be found in the National League. And no one provided more power in April than Chase Utley. The Phillies second baseman leads the majors with 11 home runs. He also scored 25 times, drove in 23 and posted a .360 batting average. At this pace Utley is well on his way to become the third consecutive player from Philadelphia to win the MVP Award. For now he can hold the trophy for the GSI Player of the Month.