It feels like we just started, but the 2019 season is already five weeks old -- nearly 20 percent of the way through. As the calendar turns, MLB.com looks ahead to the new month and checks in on some players in the National League East to keep an eye on in May.

Some are rising stars, some are players with increased pressure or expectations. All of them are important to their clubs, and worth a little of your time the next time you’re sitting down to watch a game.

Braves

Ozzie Albies is an exciting, watchable, ferociously talented young player. But it’s fair to say that we don’t yet know exactly how good he is. The next month or two may go a good ways toward clarifying that.

This was the second consecutive year that Albies came out of the gate mashing -- as good as he’s been this year, he actually had better numbers last April. Then, he hit .264/.306/.432 in May 2018, scuffled mightily against right-handed pitching for much of the season, and posted an OPS below .700 in each of the final two months of last season.

So the question is, will Albies build on April this season and stay consistent for the whole season? Is his apparent early improvement against righties real, or just an early hot streak? We won’t know the answers for sure in 30 days, but we’ll have a clearer read.

Marlins

Right-hander Nick Anderson is a 28-year-old rookie reliever. That doesn’t generally herald big things down the road. But Anderson is an outlier in more ways than one. Anderson is dominating hitters like almost nobody in the game.

He’s struck out more than half the batters he’s faced, sporting the second highest strikeout percentage of any pitcher in baseball with at least 10 innings, according to Fangraphs. He has the lowest walk rate of any pitcher in the top 15 in strikeout rate. He’s at the very top of the NL in percentage of batted balls barreled and in hard-hit rate, per Statcast.

Anderson is simply the most dominant pitcher in baseball so far in the young season. Don’t miss him and his unhittable slider the next time he pitches.

Mets

Noah Syndergaard's best is better than anybody’s. Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, whoever you like, there’s not a pitcher on the planet who can do the things a fully effective Syndergaard can do -- 98-99 mph with sink, and three offspeed pitches to go with it.

And yet ...

Something isn’t right. Everybody swears Syndergaard is healthy, and that may be the most disconcerting thing about his funk. If he were hurt, it would explain his performance. His strikeout rate is pretty much in line with where it’s always been. His walk rate is up a bit, but not drastically. He’s just getting hit -- and hit hard, with a home run rate that would be by far a career worst.

Syndergaard reaching his ceiling, or at least approaching it, is one of the most essential elements in any scenario where the Mets win a lot of games this season. It’s time for him to start doing that.

Nationals

Expectations were sky-high for Juan Soto before the season even started, because of the brilliant campaign he posted in 2018 at age 19. Now there are more than expectations -- there's pressure.

With three key members of the Nats’ lineup out due to injury, it’s more essential than ever that Soto produce. Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner and Ryan Zimmerman are all on the injured list. Victor Robles is finding the going very tough after a torrid start.

Soto has shown signs of progress recently, and to his credit, he’s maintained an excellent strike zone even when his batting average dipped. But for the Nationals to stay in contention in the NL East, they need Soto to hit like the star he was in 2018.

Phillies

Bryce Harper is the face of the Phillies, and he’s scuffling. But he has plenty of help. He’s not the team’s only big-time offensive threat. With apologies to Jake Arrieta, though, Philadelphia only has one ace, and that’s Aaron Nola.

Problem is, Nola hasn’t pitched like an ace very often this year. His past two starts have been encouraging, but he still needs to string some dominant outings.

With Nola at his best, the pieces in the Phils’ rotation fall into place nicely. They don’t need to ask too much of anyone, and he saves the bullpen some innings as well. If he scuffles, it gets much tougher to put all of that together. They need him to get rolling.