Kuzul

The Moneyball philosophy may not have resulted in a World Series title for the Oakland Athletics yet, but it undoubtedly had an impact on the way teams are assembled throughout the league.

Whether we’re talking about a small-market team facing a payroll crunch or a large-market team with a seemingly endless payroll stream, baseball is still a business.

At the end of the day, it’s all about getting the most value out of your players when it comes to assembling an MLB roster, whether it’s pre-arbitration players contributing at a young age or big-money stars living up to their lofty paychecks.

So with parity reigning and the playing field as level as ever around the league, which team is truly getting the most bang for its buck?

Begin Slideshow

It’s no accident Byron Buxton is one of the premier farmhands in the game.

Simply put, the Minnesota Twins center fielder is the top five-tool MLB prospect, and it isn’t even close.

To figure out which rising stars should join Buxton on this exclusive list, we studied up on the toolsiest prospects of all. The guys who cracked these rankings don’t just check the box in one or two categories on the tools list, but in every department.

Before we begin, here’s a quick rundown of what the toolkit looks like:

• Hit
• Power
• Run
• Arm
• Field

Courtesy of MLB.com, we’ve included the grades for each prospect in each of the five categories. On the scale, 80 is the highest mark, 50 is average, and 20 is at the bottom.

For this exercise, it’s important to remember we’re ranking the best five-tool guys—not the best five guys overall. That means one underwhelming tool sinks the chances for some of the most talented players in the minors.

The competition for spots was downright fierce, but that didn’t stop two future Boston Red Sox players from making the cut.

Begin Slideshow

Spring training offers a fresh start, a clean slate for all 30 MLB teams. The optimism that runs throughout camps is infectious, hitting a team’s respective fanbase as everyone counts down the days to Opening Day.

Depending on where your rooting interest lies, what follows could make you stop counting altogether.

What follows is a look around baseball at the odds for every team to make an apperance in the 2016 World Series. These odds are based largely on two things:

• A team’s 2015 record
• What improvements—if any—a team made during the offseason

With a number of National League clubs embarking on—or in the midst of—a rebuilding process, you’ll find a number of them clumped together at the top and bottom of our list. As for those teams in the middle, well, that’s probably not the place you want to be.

Or maybe it is. We need only look back to last season, when the Kansas City Royals, a team projected by some to finish the season under .500, won it all.

Teams are listed in order of our odds, while Vegas odds, which are provided for comparison, come courtesy of OddsShark.com.

Begin Slideshow

From the chase for the final spot in the Toronto Blue Jays rotation to the free-for-all for playing time in the Los Angeles Dodgers outfield, MLB spring training 2016 is awash with position battles that will have serious October implications.

In order to determine which derbies have the most at stake, we took two key factors into consideration.

First we zeroed in on clubs that are set up to contend in 2016 either because they turned in an impressive offseason or because their core was already in place. Then we focused on the areas where those teams struggled in 2015 and considered which position battles would play the most important role in addressing those weaknesses.

In addition to exploring the fight for the No. 5 spot in Toronto, there’s also room on the list for a breakdown of the pursuit for the final berth in one rotation that has been drastically upgraded this winter.

Begin Slideshow

Spring training is finally underway, and among others things, that means it’s time for another updated version of our MLB power rankings.

We last updated these rankings Jan. 18, so any transactions or injuries that have taken place between then and now were factored into the changes you’ll see in the following rankings.

Notable additions during that span include: OF Yoenis Cespedes (NYM), SP Yovani Gallardo (BAL), OF Khris Davis (OAK), RP Tyler Clippard (ARI), RP Jake McGee (COL), SP Doug Fister (HOU), 2B Howie Kendrick (LAD), OF Corey Dickerson (TB), SS Jean Segura (ARI), 3B Juan Uribe (CLE), SP Mat Latos (CWS), RP Fernando Rodney (SD), RP Antonio Bastardo (NYM), RP Tommy Hunter (CLE).

As with any offseason power rankings, these are not simply meant to be a prediction for the year ahead, but instead a look at how teams would stack up with the rosters they currently have if the season were to start today.

Keep that in mind when considering where your favorite team falls in the following rankings, as a lot can still change between now and Opening Day.

Note: This time around, we’ve included a projected 25-man Opening Day roster for each club. The roster projections from Roster Resource served as an invaluable starting point in this exercise, though I made changes based on my own opinions.

In the following projected rosters, (R) indicates a player with rookie eligibility remaining, while a bold player is a newcomer to the team.

Begin Slideshow

It may still be freezing in some parts of the country, but spring training is officially here, as pitchers and catchers are set to begin reporting in sunny Arizona and Florida.

Before the preseason officially begins, it’s time to roll out our farm-system rankings for the upcoming year, complete with a look at the top 10 prospects within each organization.

These rankings have been updated and tweaked a few times during the offseason, but the following can now be considered our official 2016 preseason rankings.

The following factors helped determine the rankings of players and teams:

• Potential (Player): Potential trumps production a lot of the time, especially in the lower levels of the minors and with recent draft picks. Skill set and overall tools are often a better indication of what kind of future a player has.

• Talent (Player): As for guys in the higher levels of the minors who are close to breaking through at the big league level, production and current talent level are the determining factors, as they are viewed as a more complete product.

• Overall Depth (Team): Having one or two elite prospects is great, but having a deep farm system from top to bottom is the way to build a sustainable contender. The overall depth and level of talent was the biggest factor in ranking each team.

• High-End Talent (Team): That being said, there is a difference between a prospect who has a chance of making an impact at the big league level and a prospect who could be a star. Elite prospects served as a tiebreaker of sorts when two teams were close in the rankings.

Along with an updated list of the top 10 prospects for each team, you’ll also find some general analysis on each team’s top prospects, recent draft picks and the outlook of the farm system as a whole.

We’ve also included a look at where each top prospect was born to help give a look at which teams have been most successful in building up their farm system on the international market.

A player must not have passed the rookie-eligibility limits (130 AB, 50 IP, 45 days on roster) to be eligible for inclusion in these rankings.

Begin Slideshow

The start of spring training is right around the corner, but a number of intriguing MLB free-agent options are still looking for new homes on the open market.

Dexter Fowler, Yovani Gallardo and Ian Desmond are the three marquee names still waiting to sign, but qualifying offers have held them back this winter.

Cuban slugger Yulieski Gourriel is another interesting name recently added to the free-agent crop after he defected, and he could be headed for a significant payday of his own once he decides on a team.

However, the focus ahead will be on the lower-level guys still seeking new contracts who are capable of providing some good value.

Players are ranked based on their expected 2016 impact relative to the salary they are likely to receive, giving us the best last-minute values in free agency.

Begin Slideshow

In what would be a major boon for aging sluggers such as Jose Bautista, the designated hitter could soon be arriving in a National League city near you.

According to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, the adoption of the DH in the Senior Circuit looms as a potential discussion point for the upcoming round of collective bargaining talks.

“Twenty years ago, when you talked to NL owners about the DH, you’d think you were talking some sort of heretical comment,” Manfred cracked, per ESPN.com, during the owners meetings in January.

“But we have a newer group,” he continued. “There has been turnover, and I think our owners in general have demonstrated a willingness to change the game in ways that we think would be good for the fans, always respecting the history and traditions of the sport.”

Adding the DH to the NL would also be good for guys such as Joey Bats. Like many of the players on this list, Bautista is a free agent-to-be who would have even more leverage on the open market if 30 teams—rather than 15—employed a full-time DH.

After all, clubs would feel a lot more comfortable dishing out a multiyear deal to Bautista, who turns 36 in October, if they knew he could spend at least part of his time in the DH spot.

While 2017 free agents dominate the list, there’s also room for a few prominent players who could put up even bigger offensive numbers if they could reduce their current defensive responsibilities.

Begin Slideshow

For the most part, the MLB preseason is a time for established players to shake off the rust and the manager to decide who fills the handful of open spots on the 25-man roster.

However, teams focus on a few key areas in particular; it’s sort of a blueprint to preseason success, if you will, and those are what the following article will zero in on.

We chose one player (in some cases two) who applies to each of the following categories:

• Health: The key player either recovering from an offseason injury/surgery or an oft-injured player to keep an eye on. The hope here is that he will avoid any setbacks or stay healthy.

• Rebound: The key player coming off a down season. Ideally, he’ll turn in a big spring performance and build some confidence heading into a potential bounce-back year.

• Prospect: The prospect in big league camp who is capable of making the biggest impact this coming season or is expected to fill a key role on the Opening Day roster. A young player who looks like he belongs in the spring can certainly give the team some added confidence in him heading into the year.

• Newcomer: The one new addition everyone will be watching this spring. Not necessarily the top player the team added, though in many cases they are one and the same.

Think of this as a quick overview of what to watch for this spring.

If a team’s respective health question mark, rebound candidate, prospect contributor and key newcomer can all walk away with positive spring performances, it may be as close to a perfect spring as any team can hope for.

Begin Slideshow

Rejoice! Spring training is almost upon us, bringing to an end what has been a hectic offseason, one that saw a slew of starting pitchers change uniforms, whether via free agency or trade. Keeping up with what your favorite team’s rotation looks like, much less the competition’s, has been challenging at times.

Actually, I take that back. With pitchers like Yovani Gallardo, Cliff Lee and Tim Lincecum still searching for new homes, the offseason run on pitching isn’t actually over—and what we think we know about rotations is going to change once those players come off the open market.

In fact, the upcoming exhibition season is sure to take what we know about rotations and flip things upside down. Injuries are bound to occur, once-reliable veteran arms are sure to flame out, and previously unheralded prospects will force their way into an Opening Day rotation.

But we can’t be concerned with all of that right now.

With pitchers and catchers set to begin reporting to camp next week, what follows is a look at where all 30 MLB team’s rotations rank right now, heading into spring training.

A team’s projected five-man rotation carries the most weight in these rankings, but depth, along with potential impact prospects, was taken into account as well.

After all, no team goes through an entire season using only five starting pitchers. Those that are able to keep that number under double digits are truly lucky.

Begin Slideshow