Kuzul

The countdown to Opening Day is down to mere days, and with each passing hour, the anticipation and excitement for the return of meaningful baseball only grows. That anticipation doesn’t just lie with fans, either. It affects players, pundits, managers and front office executives as well.

For those last two groups, that excitement and anticipation is mixed with pressure and anxiety. Final roster decisions need to be made, putting them in potentially uncomfortable positions, especially when it involves delivering bad news to players about their Opening Day status.

Does a dominant spring ensure a player’s spot in an Opening Day rotation? Is a former All-Star’s career over? Will there be fisticuffs in the first night game of the season?

We’ll hit on all of that and more in this week’s edition of Fact or Fiction.

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The term “superstar” gets thrown around way too liberally these days. It should be reserved for a select few players who not only impact the game in multiple ways, but also have something extra—an immeasurable trait that sets them apart from their peers.

Some might call it arrogance or swagger, but that’s not it. There’s just something different with these players, something special that executives, fans, pundits and teammates can’t quite put their fingers on.

Were we compiling a list of players who could blossom into superstars, there would be far more leeway to include a fairly large number of candidates: 10 at least, maybe more. But we’re not interested in could. We’re interested in will—players who will become big league superstars between Opening Day and the end of the regular season.

To be considered for this exercise, a player:

• Must have a realistic chance to become a full-blown Cy Young Award/MVP candidate in 2015. In other words, we’re looking for a player who’s a complete package, not just a one-trick pony like an all-or-nothing hitter or a pitcher who throws heat and nothing else.
• Must never have placed in the top 10 in Cy Young or MVP voting.
• Must never have won one of the major individual awards (Cy Young, MVP or Rookie of the Year).
• Must not have more than five years of MLB service time.

Got it? Good.

With that out of the way, let’s take a look at five players destined for the highest level of stardom an active player can attain.

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Spring training not only serves as training camp for MLB teams, but it provides general managers and coaching staffs the chance to evaluate their rosters and address any areas of need before the end of camp.

With the regular season quickly approaching, time is running out for teams to fill those holes, and some may be left considering in-house options who, while not ideal solutions, are the best available options at the moment.

Let’s take a look around baseball to see what, if anything, each contender still needs heading into Opening Day—and a glance at the rumor mill to find out whether those teams are actively looking at outside solutions or if an outside solution even exists.

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With Opening Day creeping up on the calendar, teams across Major League Baseball are getting close to resolving one of very few things that matter in spring training: position battles.

But rather than wait for official answers, we’re going to pretend like we know everything and predict what the answers will be.

We have our eyes on 10 of the spring’s most hotly contested position battles. These are the battles where there’s not only an important position at stake but also more than one worthy contestant in the running.

Our predictions will be based mostly on spring performances but also on other factors such as contract status and service time. Step into the box when you’re ready.

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We’ve reached the point in spring training when teams begin to get down to the nitty-gritty, shipping prospects back to minor league camp and letting veterans in camp on minor league deals out of their contracts, preparing to get the show on the road for Opening Day.

But that shuffling won’t be the only roster moves teams make over the next two weeks. Free-agent signings, and even a trade or two, are sure to transpire.

Has a perennial All-Star’s opinion sealed his fate? Will a contender bench a high-priced veteran in favor of an inexpensive youngster? Will two contenders strike a deal that benefits both clubs?

We’ll hit on all of that and more in this week’s edition of Fact or Fiction.

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With the start of the 2016 Major League Baseball season now fast approaching, there’s only one thing to do:

ACTIVATE THE HYPE MACHINE!

This is just our biased opinion, but baseball is a fine sport that always offers plenty to get excited about whenever a new season is on deck. Heck, in a league with 30 teams and hundreds of players, there’s really no end to the reasons to be excited.

But for the sake of brevity, let’s cut it down to a list of 50. If you’ll follow me this way, we can get started…

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It seems as if spring training has only just begun, but in less than 20 days—17 to be exact—teams will step on the field to play the first meaningful baseball of 2016. The start of the regular season is almost upon us, and while some roster decisions have been made, there are plenty of questions left to answer.

Is a pair of prospects set to break camp with a contender? Have two veteran, journeymen pitchers thrown their way onto Opening Day rosters? Does a new addition to the free-agent pool already have another team lined up?

We’ll hit on all of that and more in this week’s edition of Fact or Fiction.

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We’ve tried our hand at predicting each team’s Opening Day roster a few times so far this offseason, but now that we have some actual spring action to base things on, here’s a significantly more in-depth dive into each team’s likely roster.

What follows is a projected 25-man roster for each team.

Player names in bold on the rosters are viewed as locks, and we didn’t waste time discussing their status.

However, for the handful of players on each team who are not locked into a spot, we provided a breakdown of why that player was the choice, as well as a look at other potential candidates for the job.

Any player in italics on the other candidates list is a non-roster invitee, so he would need to be added to the 40-man roster to make the team.

Things will continue to change with the inevitable injuries, breakout performances and last-minute trades or free-agent signings, but for now, this should give a good idea of what each team could look like when Opening Day rolls around.

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While excitement and optimism reign supreme in spring training, the injury bug’s yearly debut has quashed some of those good vibes in a number of camps. Three pitchers—Atlanta’s Andrew McKirahan, Miami’s Carter Capps and Colorado’s Jairo Diaz—have been lost for the year to Tommy John surgery.

Chances are they’ll be joined on the sidelines by other pitchers, both starters and relievers, before Opening Day rolls around. But the injury bug hasn’t only been making the rounds in bullpens this spring.

Will a contender make a drastic move to replace an injured All-Star infielder? Is a big name making big bucks about to lose his job to an inexpensive youngster? Do players, and not the team, make the final decisions on what roles they’ll fill on an Opening Day roster?

We’ll hit on all of that and more in this week’s edition of Fact or Fiction.

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The most dominant offense in Major League Baseball this season will probably belong to the Toronto Blue Jays. After what they did last year, call it a hunch.

But in the year 2020? Now that’s a good question. 

Let’s answer it like we did with starting rotations last week and round up a list of 10 teams. They were chosen based on the established hitters they have locked up through 2020, as well as what they have down on the farm and/or any future spending flexibility.

Because 2020 is a long time from now, the same caveat from last week’s projection of the top rotations applies: there’s a limit to how much we can predict. Rather than predict each team’s 2020 starting lineup down to the last player, we’ll merely be providing outlines for what could be there.

There’s also a second caveat this time. The Colorado Rockies may seem like an obvious choice, but you won’t find them here. We have to account for the fact that Rockies offenses are too spoiled by Coors Field, and also for the fact that the organization’s future is currently about as up in the air as its home ballpark.

As for how the rankings work, we’re looking to make our way toward the team that has the best chance of having a lineup loaded with in-their-prime stars come 2020. So, let’s get to it.

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