By Douglas Benton This is the newest addition to RealGM?s coverage of baseball in 2007 as we unveil our player scouting blog. In this space, we will write up small scouting reports on how players are doing and will update it with reports throughout the season. Saturday, April 21 New York Mets left-handed pitcher Oliver Perez showed signs of his vast potential in a home start against the Atlanta Braves. He relied mostly on his fastball, but it was more than to enough to quiet the Braves. It was routinely clocked in the 94-96 mph range and had good late, tailing action. With this kind of velocity, Perez was able to pitch up in the zone and he did a great job of putting it high enough in the zone that the hitter could do nothing with it. He also flashed an above-average slider, but it was his fastball that made the day for Perez. Thursday, April 19 Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee looks to be back from a wrist injury that limited him in 2006. His swing looks great in the early going as he is displaying his soft hands with every at-bat. He has a little too much movement before the pitch, but he does a great job of always getting his hands into the hitting position, where he can do damage. Lee also has a great level on his swing, which produces consistent, solid contact to the gaps. Wednesday, April 11 Seattle Mariners right-handed ace Felix Hernandez was brilliant against the Boston Red Sox. He was dominant with just two basic pitches: his fastball and slider. His fastball was clocked in the high-90s and even hitting 100 mph all over the zone and his slider was hard and biting. It ranged in the mid-80s and the combination of these two pitches was as filthy as any starter in baseball. It compares very favorably to Los Angeles Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez. Tuesday, April 10 Atlanta Braves right-handed pitcher Tim Hudson looks to have regained the form that made him an All-Star with the Oakland A?s. Against the Washington Nationals, when he went seven strong innings of shutout ball, Hudson was aggressive in his pitch sequences that feature many sinker and splitters. The sinker was his best pitch as it had hard, downward movement and was clocked regularly in the low-90s. Hudson appears to be pitching more for swings and misses instead of forced contact, which should lower some of his bigger mistakes this year. Douglas Benton can be reached at [email protected]