Kuzul

Once the calendars flip to a new year, the following statement becomes true: It’s never too early to start preparing for your fantasy baseball draft.

Consider this your go-to guide for the weeks ahead. We’ll delve into the top players at every position and hit on a handful of prospects you’ll want to know about—both to include in your Opening Day lineup and those you’ll want to stash for use later in the season. For good measure, we’ll toss in a handful of draft tips as well.

These rankings are based on a standard, five-by-five mixed rotisserie league. While they’re applicable in other types of leagues, you’ll have to adjust the rankings based on the scoring system you’ll be playing under.

Let’s get started.

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At some point, Brian Dozier’s time with the Minnesota Twins figures to come to an end. The subject of trade rumors for much of the offseason, MLB‘s premier slugger at second base is one of the biggest names left twisting in the purgatory that is the trade block.

It’s not so much that a player’s current team doesn’t want them any longer (though there are certainly times where that’s the case), but rather said player, like Dozier, is more valuable to the team as a trade chip than a fixture on the 25-man roster.

It’s a rough place for a player to spend any significant time.

For those, like Dozier, who find themselves on the block, there are only two rules they have to check off to be included on this list: 

• They must have been the subject of a legitimate rumor or speculation from a known source
• They must be a logical fit on a team other than their current one

That last rule, coupled with recent free-agent signings, eliminated some players who were on our original list.

Who made the cut? Let’s take a look.

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March is an important month for baseball fans. Not only does it signal the beginning of the exhibition season—and draw us ever closer to Opening Day—but every four years, it provides us the opportunity to see the best players in the world compete in a 16-team tournament, the World Baseball Classic.

While some fans bemoan the fact that the tournament cuts into spring training, there’s no denying that the action on the field is both exciting and entertaining. That’s especially true as teams advance into the later rounds, consummating with the Championship Round at Dodger Stadium, which begins on March 20.

Final rosters aren’t due for another few weeks, so much can change between now and then. But based on the players we know are participating, the competition teams will be facing in their respective pools in the first round and how they’ve fared in the past, we can begin to affix labels to some of these clubs.

What follows is a look at four favorites—and four dark horses—in the fourth installment of the WBC.

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Few positions in baseball have seen as big an influx of high-upside young talent in recent years as shortstop. From Carlos Correa to Francisco Lindor to Corey Seager, the position is well stocked with young stars who are poised to dominate the game for years to come.

Believe it or not, the pipeline is far from dry, as some young shortstops are poised to make their impact felt during the 2017 season. Of course, the veterans who stand in their way will have something to say about that, as they’re not going to give up their everyday jobs willingly.

Keep in mind that this isn’t a list or ranking of the best shortstops in baseball—that’ll come as we get closer to Opening Day. Rather, this is a look at those who, for a variety of reasons, carry some of the most compelling storylines into spring training.

The list that follows includes players working their way back from injuries and the youngsters mentioned above, both those on the way and those looking to take the next step in their development, as well as former stars hoping to hang around for another season.

Previous entries in our “Spring Training 10 to Watch” series: Catchers, First Basemen, Second Basemen

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It’s time to start preparing for the upcoming fantasy baseball season.

Sure, most drafts are still at least a month away. But nobody wants to be caught unprepared, forced to rely on the preset rankings supplied by whatever site your league uses, manically flipping printouts as you search for a worthy selection while the clock runs out on you.

On the pages that follow, we’ll delve into the top 20 players at every position (top 40 for outfielders and starting pitchers), identifying at least one player at each position who just missed the cut but should remain firmly on your radar.

These rankings are based on a standard, five-by-five mixed rotisserie league. While they’re applicable in other types of leagues, you’ll have to adjust the rankings based on the scoring system you’ll be playing under.

Let’s get started.

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The New York Yankees remain a team in flux, heading into spring training with a roster that could contend—or fall short of the playoffs for the fourth time in the past five years.

Veterans like Brian McCann (traded) and Mark Teixeira (retired) are gone, replaced by youngsters who are big on upside—but light on experience. That could lead to some growing pains in 2017, but it’s a pain that general manager Brian Cashman believes fans are ready to endure.

“(The fans are) willing to walk through that (the ups and downs) with you as long as they have some legitimate players they can really grow with,” he recently told Mike Mazzeo of the New York Daily News. “We’re really now in a better position to provide a group of talent where hopefully some will really be part of the next championship core.”

Some of those players will be competing for a spot on the 25-man roster this spring. Others still need more minor league seasoning before they can officially join the fray. How will things shake out when it’s said and done?

Let’s take a look.

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Be very, very quiet. We’re hunting wabbits general managers—at least any who might still be awake.

If we didn’t know any better, we’d think there was a freeze on transactions. For baseball’s rumor mill has come to a screeching halt, and there’s no reason to be optimistic that things will pick up soon.

While most contenders have already done their heavy lifting and can head into spring training confident in their rosters, a handful of World Series hopefuls still have work left. With pitchers and catchers set to report to camp in a matter of weeks, not months, the glory of spring training will soon be upon us. 

What follows is a look at some splashy, impactful trades that a handful of contenders should try to pull off before then. Some of these deals have made the rounds as rumor or speculation. Others have not and are the result of our baseball-starved minds having far too much free time.

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Nobody’s going to criticize the New York Mets for re-signing Yoenis Cespedes to a four-year, $110 million deal. Despite already having a full complement of outfielders under contract, Cespedes is unquestionably the key piece of the team’s offense.

But with Cespedes back in the fold, this glut of outfielders has limited the Mets’ ability to improve elsewhere—namely in the bullpen.

“It’s like buying a new house without selling your old one,” Mets general manager Sandy Alderson remarked in early December, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. “Sometimes you get stuck in the transition, and it’s not a good place to be.”

No, it’s not. 

But there’s a market for some of those excess outfielders, namely Jay Bruce and Curtis Granderson. In fact, the Mets could potentially unload one of them in exchange for one of the players we’re about to look at—a New Jersey native who would represent a major addition to their relief corps.

As for the rest of the targets on this list, the Mets’ odds of adding them likely depends on just how much payroll room they’re able to create.

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Signing All-Star closer Mark Melancon to a four-year, $62 million deal was a necessary move for the San Francisco Giants, but it was one that has seemingly limited the team’s ability to improve the roster elsewhere.

“I don’t think there’s anything more to ask of ownership,” general manager Bobby Evans said, per John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. “It’s more what I can do with what we have.”

That’s understandable for a team with one of the game’s highest payrolls, but if the Giants are going to put an end to Los Angeles’ run of four consecutive National League West crowns, they’re going to have to plug holes in left field and at third base.

What follows is a look at five players, both free agents and trade acquisitions, that the Giants could reasonably target to fill those holes—assuming that ownership is willing to stretch the budget just a bit more than it already has.

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