Mike Stanton

Sitting in the visitors' dugout one afternoon last September, Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel watched rain fall as he gushed about the Florida Marlins ' precocious slugger, Mike Stanton."He's one of the best young hitters I've seen come along," Manuel said. "The ball really jumps off his bat. He's as strong as anybody I've ever seen."Manuel went on like that for 15 minutes. Eventually the rain stopped, the game began and Stanton struck out four times.Oh well; no one ever claimed Stanton would get a hit every time up. But there's a buzz building about the 21-year-old right fielder, whose propensity for prodigious homers is — dare we say it? — Ruthian. Or Mantlesque.Or at least Pujols-ish."It makes BP-watching a lot more fun," teammate Gaby Sanchez said. "We're catching our groundballs and Mike will come up, and you're like, 'Hold on a sec. I don't want to miss this.'"Stanton was called up from Double-A to make his big-league debut last June. His first home run was a grand s...

Read More ›