The MLB regular season begins Tuesday with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs facing off in Tokyo, Japan, and now is the perfect time to see where the two National League teams -- and the other 28 teams in Major League Baseball -- stand going into the 2025 season.
Here is a team-by-team look at the year ahead for all 30 MLB teams -- the most vital players, insider intel, fantasy help and prospect insight all in one place. Whether your team is a championship contender or a long shot, there is something for you here.
Jump to team:
American League
ATH | BAL | BOS | CHW | CLE
DET | HOU | KC | LAA | MIN
NYY | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR
National League
ARI | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL
LAD | MIA | MIL | NYM | PHI
PIT | SD | SF | STL | WSH
AL East
Baltimore Orioles
Why the season hinges on Adley Rutschman: The Orioles' regression in 2024 was disconcerting, and nobody struggled in the second half like Baltimore's franchise catcher. Certainly there is nothing wrong with ceding the best-player-on-the-team title to Gunnar Henderson, but Rutschman flatlining -- he hit .207/.282/.303 in 234 plate appearances after the All-Star break -- was alarming.
The Orioles certainly have a dubious rotation with Grayson Rodriguez starting the year on the injured list, but they have the talent to counter iffy pitching with a dynamic offense. And if Rutschman, now in his age-27 season, can replicate or even exceed his first two seasons of high-on-base/solid-slug offense, the Orioles' lineup, which scored the fourth-most runs in the big leagues last year, could find itself atop MLB's scoring table.
How to win your fantasy league: Not only do you get second- and third-base eligibility with Jordan Westburg, he's bound to benefit from the Orioles pulling in their left-field wall. If you're in an OBP league, knock him down a tier, but otherwise the versatility and power make Westburg a top-10 option at both positions.
The best thing I heard all spring: One person who works for the Orioles on their latest top prospect, catcher Samuel Basallo: "We need to find ABs for him." With Rutschman at catcher and a variety of first basemen on the roster, that might be difficult this season. But the 20-year-old Basallo is coming, and when he arrives, the 6-foot-4, 180-pound left-handed hitter will bring some of the loudest power in the minor leagues.
Something you might not know: In his first two outings back from Tommy John surgery this spring, closer Félix Bautista was missing about 4 mph on his average fastball from his first two big league seasons. Certainly Bautista can find success in the mid-90s as he did sitting at 99 with his four-seamers, but the lower the velocity, the smaller the margin of error.
Boston Red Sox
Why the season hinges on Garrett Crochet: The Red Sox needed a front-line starter as much as any team needed anything this winter, and although Crochet has all of 146 innings as a starter to his name, Boston gladly parted with a significant package of prospects for two years of Crochet control. He will start Opening Day with a gyro slider to add to his quiver of pitches with glove-side run: a four-seam fastball, a cutter and a sweeper.
Crochet's velocity is unmatched by his southpaw peers, but then it's never been a question of stuff with him. If Crochet can stay healthy and push past the 180-innings mark, the Red Sox will find themselves in the mix of an AL East that looks much more wide open without Gerrit Cole at the top of the Yankees' rotation.
How to win your fantasy league: Ignore the poor spring numbers and steal Kristian Campbell in the late rounds. Campbell has not captured the second-base job, hitting .167/.286/.200 in 35 plate appearances, but Boston could break camp with him anyway, and if he's going to play, he's going to hit.
The best thing I heard all spring: Top prospect Marcelo Mayer beaming after new Red Sox infielder Alex Bregman bought suits for him, Campbell, outfielder Roman Anthony and other Boston minor leaguers.
"It's the sickest thing ever," Mayer said. More than anything, the gesture suggested Bregman -- who can opt out of his three-year, $120 million contract after the first season -- sees himself in Boston for the long haul.
Something you might not know: Outfielder Jarren Duran thrived in his first full season last year, putting up the sorts of numbers previously achieved by the best of the best in a Red Sox uniform. Here are the bona fides of the players who in a single season scored more than 111 runs, logged at least 191 hits and homered 21 or more times, like Duran: three Hall of Famers (Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams and Jim Rice), three MVPs (Jim Rice, Mo Vaughn and Mookie Betts) and three All-Stars (Nomar Garciaparra, Jacoby Ellsbury and Rafael Devers). The only player on the list to have more steals than Duran's 34 was Ellsbury. Williams and Rice were the only comparables with as many triples as Duran's 14. Devers and Bogaerts were the lone members with more doubles than Duran's 48.
New York Yankees
Why the season hinges on Max Fried: With a blown-out elbow sidelining Gerrit Cole for the season, the impetus on Fried to fill his Opening Day-starter role -- and the responsibility that comes with it -- is immense. New York extended beyond the expected payday for Fried with an eight-year, $218 million free agent contract, and between Cole's Tommy John surgery and Luis Gil's strained lat that will keep him on the shelf for at least two months, the Yankees' starting pitching depth collapsed within a month of showing up to camp. Fried's steadiness enthralled the Yankees, and if they have any hopes of a World Series return, it will be on the back of his 30-plus starts.
How to win your fantasy league: After the first 10 days of the season, Jazz Chisholm Jr. will be the single best Swiss Army knife among American League players. Only Mookie Betts has a better combination of production and positional eligibility than Chisholm, who can be played at second, third or outfield.
The best thing I heard all spring: Multiple teams tried to trade for right-hander Will Warren this offseason after a middling six-outing big league cameo last year ended in a 10.32 ERA. New York believed Warren was better than that, and he is rewarding the support with an impressive spring and likely rotation spot.
Something you might not know: Sixteen players will make $30 million or more this year. Three of them will begin the season on the injured list: the Angels' Anthony Rendon, and the Yankees' Cole and Giancarlo Stanton, whose mysterious bilateral elbow injuries could cause him to miss the season as well. One other Yankee is in the $30 million-plus club: Aaron Judge, the reigning AL MVP who could reasonably be featured in any of the three previous categories in this team preview.
Tampa Bay Rays
Why the season hinges on Shane McClanahan: Perhaps it's not fair to hang the season on someone coming back from Tommy John surgery, but McClanahan is a true No. 1 starter when he's right. The rest of the Rays' rotation has questions -- from the health of Drew Rasmussen and Shane Baz to the upside of Ryan Pepiot and Zack Littell to the consistency of Taj Bradley and Joe Boyle -- putting that much more on McClanahan.
Only a handful of left-handed starters in the big leagues this spring are throwing harder than him, and it's a hell of a list: Garrett Crochet, Cristopher Sánchez, Tarik Skubal, Cole Ragans, Jesús Luzardo. This is purely about ceiling, and the Rays' ultimately depends on what version of McClanahan they get.
How to win your fantasy league: Draft and stash Chandler Simpson. Even in a league with a short bench, Simpson is worth rostering for what he's going to be when he arrives: the best base stealer in a generation. The 24-year-old outfielder could reach the majors by midseason, and any player who single-handedly can keep a team competitive in a category is incredibly valuable.
The best thing I heard all spring: When veteran infielder Erik Gonzalez injured his knee and couldn't play in Game 7 of the Dominican Winter League finals between his Escogido team and Licey, Junior Caminero -- all of 21 -- told him: "I got you."
In Game 7, Caminero hit a 454-foot, championship-winning home run to dead center in the ninth inning and dedicated it to Gonzalez, who had played 11 seasons in Escogido without a championship. Caminero hopes to bring the same level of success to the Rays, and it would surprise no one if he wound up one of the team's best hitters by the end of the season.
Something you might not know: The Rays' bullpen is going to be really good. Beyond closer Pete Fairbanks, they return Edwin Uceta (1.51 ERA in 41⅔ innings), Hunter Bigge (acquired in the Isaac Paredes deal), Manny Rodriguez (2.15 ERA in 37⅔ innings), left-handers Garrett Cleavinger (71 strikeouts in 60 innings) and Mason Montgomery (now sitting upper 90s with his fastball), and a host of others. By ERA, they were a top 10 relief corps last year. Expect that to improve.
Toronto Blue Jays
Why the season hinges on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: The season. The future. Everything for the Blue Jays is tied to Vlad Jr., who they tried and failed to sign to a long-term contract extension over the winter. If Toronto has any hopes of competing in the AL East, the Guerrero of the second half last year -- .376/.450/.678 with more walks than strikeouts -- needs to show up again. And yet that will only validate his desire for a 15-year contract for well over $500 million that Toronto wasn't willing to give him. Should Guerrero not perform at that level, the Blue Jays simply don't have enough talent to make up for it. The Catch-22 is real.
How to win your fantasy league: Entering the 2024 season, shortstop Bo Bichette was a consensus top 40 player. His current average draft position (ADP) in ESPN leagues is 190th. Yes, Bichette is coming off a terrible 2024. But in terms of value, there is an immense amount to be captured. Take advantage before everyone wises up.
The best thing I heard all spring: Max Scherzer is in full embrace of how a power pitcher survives at 40. Scherzer's fastball velocity is right where it was last year -- 92.5 mph in 2024, 92.4 mph this spring -- but it's the judiciousness with which he wields it that is impressive. Of his dozen hardest fastballs this spring, 10 have been on two-strike counts. It's a classic longevity maneuver: save your best pitches for the biggest spots.
Something you might not know: For all of the players they have missed out on in free agency, it's rather shocking that Blue Jays still have the fifth-highest payroll in baseball, behind only the Dodgers, Mets, Phillies and Yankees. They also have $97 million scheduled to come off the books after this season, with Guerrero, Bichette, Scherzer, Chris Bassitt and Chad Green set to reach free agency.
AL Central
Chicago White Sox
Why the season hinges on Luis Robert Jr.: The White Sox are one of three teams in baseball this year (along with the Miami Marlins and Colorado Rockies) that enter the season with no hope for a postseason berth. Which means their seasons are more about how they affect the future than the present. And that's what makes Robert so fundamental: The 27-year-old center fielder is the only player left on their roster whom they would trade and get back a significant return. The White Sox have done a good job rebuilding their farm system, and while competing probably isn't on the table until 2027, adding assets in the meantime is imperative.
How to win your fantasy league: The pickings are more or less nonexistent, so this is pure upside. Wait until the last round and grab Mike Clevinger, the longtime starter transitioning to the bullpen. If he doesn't make the White Sox's roster, he's an easy cut. If he does, though -- and the way he's pitching, he will -- Chicago could give Clevinger the ninth inning. There is no fantasy shame in chasing saves, especially ones with a minuscule asset cost, and with a team that will play as many close games as the White Sox, their closer could be in line to grab more than expected.
The best thing I heard all spring: Scouts talking not only about Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith, the White Sox's consensus top pitching prospects, but putting Grant Taylor in the same elite category as them.
Taylor, an imposing right-hander with a big-league-ready body at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, spent his spring sitting at 99.2 mph with his fastball. With four other pitches -- mostly cutters and curveballs, with sliders and changeups sprinkled in -- Taylor isn't just a power arm destined for the bullpen. He could move fast and is firmly part of a future rotation primed to include Schultz, Smith and whoever stands out this year.
Something you might not know: If the White Sox win 10 more games this year, they'll still finish with more losses than all but nine teams in history. That is how bad the White Sox were en route to a record-setting 121 losses last year: a team that makes a theoretical double-digit gain in wins would still be among the worst in the history of the game.
Cleveland Guardians
Why the season hinges on José Ramírez: Because it always does, right? Ramírez enters his 13th season on a Hall of Fame trajectory and with even less help than he usually has. In truth, the season hinges more on Cleveland figuring out its Nos. 3 and 4 hitters to provide the sort of lineup protection that will prevent teams from simply pitching around Ramírez. In the past eight years, Ramírez has finished among the top six of MVP voting six times, and he tied a career best with 39 home runs last year while breaking his stolen-base mark with 41. A similar performance could be enough to buoy Cleveland's offense, but even then, who will replace the traded Josh Naylor in the lineup behind Ramírez hitting second?
How to win your fantasy league: Right-hander Gavin Williams sparkled in his rookie season before on-and-off health diluted his follow-up last season to the point he didn't even make Cleveland's postseason roster. Williams' stuff this spring says he's closer to his 2023 self than 2024, and there is little as satisfying as plucking a high-strikeout performer late in a draft.
The best thing I heard all spring: The dying art of switch-hitting is alive and well in Cleveland. With Ramirez, Carlos Santana and Brayan Rocchio, the Guardians' lineup features the most plate appearances by switch-hitters in 2024. And with outfielder Jaison Chourio and infielders Angel Genao, Juan Brito and Welbyn Francisca, the Guardians have four top prospects -- Brito is close to big-league-ready; Chourio, Genao and Francisca were in Class A last year -- to carry on the switch-hitting tradition.
Something you might not know: The Guardians had the best bullpen in baseball last year, but just how good is properly expressed through two numbers: 2.57 and 3.55. The first is Cleveland's number. The latter is the ERA for the relief corps of the Detroit Tigers, who had the second-best figure in the AL and nearly a full run higher.
The last teams with a bullpen ERA as low as Cleveland's 2024 number were Kansas City (2.55) and Atlanta (2.46) in 2013. The next year, the Royals put up a 3.30 and the Braves a 3.31.
Detroit Tigers
Why the season hinges on Tarik Skubal: The AL Cy Young winner is the best pitcher in baseball today, the kind capable of delivering a season for the ages.
Detroit needed every one of his 18 wins last season, and while improvement is difficult to come by when you've just turned in a sub-2.50 FIP season -- one of just 15 pitchers in the past 10 years to do so while qualifying for the ERA title -- Skubal matching or besting that number would indeed be rare. The only pitcher with multiple FIPs under 2.50 during that decade-long stretch is Chris Sale -- a decent analog for a hard-throwing, high-performing left-hander, sure, but also a reminder that being a completely dominant starting pitcher tends to have a short shelf life.
With Detroit whiffing on its pursuit of Alex Bregman, the offense will remain a matchup-oriented play for manager AJ Hinch and the lion's share of the team's success will fall on a pitching staff Skubal is ready to lead.
How to win your fantasy league: Among players with at least 250 plate appearances last year, Kerry Carpenter finished ninth in weighted on-base average, behind only Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Tucker, Juan Soto, Yordan Alvarez, Bobby Witt Jr., Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Brent Rooker. The first seven are among the top 11 players in ADP. Rooker is just inside 100. Carpenter is currently 238, a laughably low number and opportunity for pure thievery even with hurdles to bound against fellow left-handers.
The best thing I heard all spring: "I'm done with trying to dot a gnat's ass," rookie right-hander Jackson Jobe said. "Just, here's my stuff. If you hit it, good. Odds are, probably not."
Beyond the invocation of insect anatomy, 22-year-old Jobe brings understandable confidence to the mound because his arsenal of pitches immediately will put him in the tier below Paul Skenes for best raw stuff in the world. Detroit is almost certain to break camp with Jobe in a rotation that also includes Skubal and righties Jack Flaherty and Reese Olson.
Something you might not know: In both August and September, the Tigers' bullpen threw more innings over a month than any team had since 2018, the year Tampa Bay introduced the opener. Detroit relievers threw 144⅓ innings of 2.99 ERA ball in August, and they were even better in September, posting a 2.41 ERA in 141⅔ innings.
Kansas City Royals
Why the season hinges on Bobby Witt Jr.: Earlier this spring, a longtime evaluator said he thinks Witt is the best player in the world. Better than Shohei Ohtani even? Well, yes, he said, at least until Ohtani is back pitching. And the argument can be made: Witt did finish the 2024 season with more WAR than Ohtani put up with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases. Because in addition to a bat that produced a higher wOBA than everyone but Judge, Ohtani and Juan Soto, he also was one of the best defensive players in baseball, manning shortstop with athleticism and consistency. Players of Witt's caliber carry teams, and one season after he willed the Royals into October, his return engagement -- and the Royals' ability to stack a better offense around Witt -- will similarly dictate their fortunes.
How to win your fantasy league: People are again sleeping on Seth Lugo because apparently the ability to not just throw but command nine distinct pitches -- four- and two-seam fastballs, curveball, three types of sliders (gyro, sweeper, slurve), changeup, splitter, cutter -- is a big dose of melatonin. That's fine. Let everyone else take Bryce Miller (102 ADP) or Brandon Pfaadt (162) while you wait to snag Lugo, who's going 173rd.
The best thing I heard all spring: The sound of the ball when Jac Caglianone squares it up. The 22-year-old slugger, chosen No. 6 in last summer's draft, has crushed three home runs in 14 at-bats and struck out just three times. If Caglianone can avoid the swing-and-miss travails that waylay sluggers with similar power, it's very simple: He will be a star in the big leagues soon. The power is otherworldly, and once he acclimates himself to a corner-outfield spot, he should be ready to join the heart of the Royals' order this summer.
Something you might not know: Catcher Salvador Perez is entering his 15th season with the Royals. The only catchers in baseball history to spend their entire careers with one team and play at least half their games every year at catcher are Yadier Molina and Bill Dickey -- both at 19 years, both Hall of Famers.
Johnny Bench (third base), Joe Mauer (first base) and Jorge Posada (DH) would have qualified if not for their late-career position changes. Perez could wind up doing the same at first base or DH, but not this season, when he's expected to catch around 90 games.
Minnesota Twins
Why the season hinges on health: One of these years, the Twins pray, everything is going to line up. Carlos Correa will play a full season. Byron Buxton will play a full season. Royce Lewis will play a full season. Hell, even two of the three would be plenty to turn a disappointing 2024 into a prosperous 2025.
Minnesota is too deep in talent to be a middle-of-the-road team. Part of it is the injuries that seemingly always limit its three most gifted every-day players. Part of it is a generation of prospects hitting the big leagues well. The Twins have depth, in platoon options and in pitching staff, making this the sort of team that would benefit more than most from potential stars playing like it. So far -- fingers crossed, wood knocked -- all three are set to play Opening Day. And in an AL Central without a clear favorite, that makes Minnesota at the very least a team worth watching.
How to win your fantasy league: Rarely is it advisable to draft a setup man in fantasy baseball, but Griffin Jax is no average eighth-inning specialist. For the past three years, he has been one of the best relief pitchers in baseball, and because of manager Rocco Baldelli's reliever usage, Jax will get more save opportunities than others in his role. Compound that with closer Jhoan Duran's ineffective fastball last year continuing to shed velocity and Jax looks mighty tempting as a potential high-end closer with an ADP of 243.
The best thing I heard all spring: Cory Lewis' knuckleball is almost ready for the big leagues. A ninth-round pick in 2022, Lewis -- who finished last season at Triple-A -- has averaged 83.5 mph on 13 knuckleballs this spring.
It is by far the hardest version of the pitch ever seen at the professional level. San Diego's Matt Waldron averaged 77.6 mph on his knuckler last year. R.A. Dickey topped out at 77.3 mph. While Lewis mixes it with a 90 mph fastball as well as a slider, the knuckler will be the pitch that gets him to Minneapolis.
Something you might not know: Cincinnati Reds star Elly De La Cruz single-handedly stole more bases (67) than the entire Twins roster last year (65).
AL West
Athletics
Why the season hinges on Lawrence Butler: For most of the second half last season, Butler wasn't just the best player on the A's but one of the best in the big leagues. He impressed the organization enough that the A's locked him up on a $65.5 million contract extension on the strength of his final 73 games, in which Butler hit .302/.346/.597 with 20 home runs and 14 stolen bases.
While Brent Rooker serves as the foundation of the offense, Butler might be the better MVP candidate. For now, his goal is shorter-term. Every day, an alert pops up on his phone: "ASG ATL 2025 NO MATTER WHAT," it reads, a reference to the All-Star Game taking place in Butler's hometown of Atlanta. If he can manifest it, Butler's A's could find themselves in the mix of the wide-open AL West.
How to win your fantasy league: Get a 30-home-run catcher around pick 200. Shea Langeliers doesn't bring much fantasy production beyond his home runs, but the only player at his position with more homers last season was Cal Raleigh, who is going about 100 picks higher but had similar numbers otherwise (.220 batting average to Langeliers' .224, 100 RBIs to 80, 73 runs to 58). Langeliers won't win you the league. He'll just be a valuable part of teams that do.
The best thing I heard all spring: There's a wellspring of talent on the verge of the major leagues, with Nick Kurtz leading the charge. The fourth pick in the draft last year, Kurtz is on pace to be one of the first players from the Class of 2024 to debut in the big leagues. The 22-year-old first baseman held his own in major league spring training -- especially impressive are the seven walks and four strikeouts in 27 plate appearances. Alongside right-handed pitchers Jack Perkins and Mason Barnett, shortstop Max Muncy, and outfielders Colby Thomas, Henry Bolte and Denzel Clarke, a new generation of A's is coming.
Something you might not know: On July 1, the A's owned the big leagues' third-worst record at 30-56 -- only six games ahead of a White Sox team that would lose more than any team in baseball's modern era. From that day on, they went 39-37 -- the fourth-best mark in the AL -- despite being outscored by 13 runs.
Houston Astros
Why the season hinges on Yordan Álvarez: Now that Kyle Tucker is gone, and with Jose Altuve turning 35 in May, Álvarez is the sun around which the Astros orbit. When he is healthy, Álvarez is one of the five best hitters in baseball, a force who punishes bad pitches and manages others with aplomb. For a guy with four consecutive 30-homer-plus seasons, Álvarez rarely strikes out -- he had the third-lowest K rate of anyone with 30-plus last year -- and rarely chases bad pitches.
Álvarez played a career-high 147 games last season, and if Houston returns to form amid an overhaul from its two World Series-winning seasons, it will be with Álvarez hitting the massive sorts of home runs like he did in the 2022 World Series-clinching Game 6.
How to win your fantasy league: Grab third baseman Isaac Paredes and fall in love with Daikin Park's left-field Crawford Boxes. No player and stadium marry quite as well as Paredes and Houston's home park thanks to his extreme-pull approach, with 1,786 career plate appearances and every one of his 72 home runs to left. It didn't work in Chicago, where Paredes hit three homers in 52 games. But with the foul pole in left only 315 feet away, it should in Houston.
The best thing I heard all spring: The ocean of praise lavished on Cam Smith is rare for a player with 134 professional plate appearances, though since entering organized baseball, Smith has done nothing but hit. Chosen 14th overall by the Cubs last summer, Smith looked like their third baseman of the future. He came to the Astros in the Kyle Tucker deal, carried an OPS of nearly 2.000 through his first spring, and is now readying to transition to right field, the truest sign yet that the team wants him in Houston full time as soon as possible.
Something you might not know: From May 11 on, right-hander Hunter Brown posted the third-best ERA in baseball behind Paul Skenes (who's arguably the best pitcher in the game) and Chris Sale (who won the National League Cy Young Award). In each of his 24 outings, he went at least five innings, and 19 times it was six or more. With a six-pitch mix, including a nasty changeup he debuted last season, Brown won't start Opening Day. But by the end of the season, he's primed to be the clear ace of Houston's future.
Los Angeles Angels
Why the season hinges on Mike Trout: The only constant in the Angels' jacked-up universe is the 33-year-old Trout, and considering he has played 36, 119, 82 and 29 games over the past four seasons, it's easy to imagine how poorly things have gone for the Angels over that stretch. They aren't expected to get a whole lot better this year. If Trout does manage to stay healthy, and the Angels don't far exceed projections, the question will become whether this is the season Trout agrees to waive his no-trade protection. Considering he's owed $177 million for five years after 2025, potential acquiring teams will be wary. But if he shows signs of his three-time-MVP-winning self, that could be enough to convince them it's worth the risk.
How to win your fantasy league: With an ADP of 253, Zach Neto is going to make a lot of owners thankful that they looked past the shortstop missing the early part of the season while recovering from shoulder surgery. Neto has top 100-type talent, and for a shortstop who hit 23 home runs and stole 30 bases in his age-23 season to be going this low screams opportunity.
The best thing I heard all spring: Flamethrowing right-hander Ben Joyce is healthy and blowing up radar guns as if the shoulder inflammation that shut him down last year was no longer a concern. Joyce averaged 102.1 mph on his four-seamer last season, the highest mark in baseball history, and while he has ceded the closer job to future Hall of Famer Kenley Jansen, Angels manager Ron Washington now can use Joyce in high-leverage situations rather than save him for the ninth inning.
Something you might not know: Logan O'Hoppe logged the third-most games at catcher of anyone in MLB last year and hit 20 home runs in the process. He'll never be a high on-base guy, and a near-30% strikeout rate is on the cusp of troublesome, but O'Hoppe is a solid receiver who caught 30 runners stealing last season -- also the third most in the league.
Seattle Mariners
Why the season hinges on Julio Rodríguez: Like Bobby Witt Jr. last year, Rodríguez is talented enough to drag a team to the postseason. And considering the budgetary constraints that kept the Mariners from signing any high-end free agents this winter, drag he must. Seattle's offense will improve because it can't be much worse, and the same can be said for Rodríguez, who even in a down year was a four-win player.
The Mariners want more: six wins, like he did in each of his first two seasons, and perhaps more. That's the thing about Rodríguez: In a universe that contains perhaps a dozen players with the ability to drop a 10-win season, he is one of them. And if ever Rodríguez fulfills his full potential, watch out. Rodríguez fully realized is something for which MLB is not ready.
How to win your fantasy league: With an ADP of 258, outfielder Victor Robles is being drafted later than Alex Verdugo, who literally does not have a job. That might be understandable if Robles hadn't swiped 30 bases in his 77 games with the Mariners. Or hit .328/.393/.467 over that stretch. But he did. And even if stolen bases are easier to come by than they once were, Robles' ability to fly makes him a no-brainer toward the end of the draft.
The best thing I heard all spring: The noise from the crowd outside the fencing on a Mariners backfield. Members of the team's front office had gathered with great anticipation to take in a one-of-a-kind live batting practice. When Jurrangelo Cijntje pitches, he can run one of his fastballs up to 98 mph and the other to 93. And this isn't a four-seamer/sinker situation. It's right hand and left hand.
In a moment where the best player in the world hits and pitches at an otherworldly level, the shock of a switch-pitcher -- not a slopmaster like Pat Venditte but a true-blue power arm -- shouldn't be quite as acute. Be forewarned: It is. Even if Cijntje, taken in the first round last year as the Mariners continue a tremendous run of draft classes, is a couple of years from the big leagues, the 21-year-old is no novelty. The stuff will play, and the power switch-pitcher will be a reality.
Something you might not know: At 19, shortstop Colt Emerson is the best prospect in the Mariners' organization and the only teenager this spring to hit at least two balls 110 mph-plus. Emerson crushed the Arizona Fall League and is on a fast track to the major leagues, though he's likelier to make a 2026 debut than this year.
Texas Rangers
Why the season hinges on Jacob deGrom: Just about everything went wrong for the Rangers last year in their quest to repeat as World Series champions. Perhaps the brightest spot came at the end of the season, when deGrom returned for three starts and reminded the world just how good he is when healthy.
The extraterrestrial stuff remains, as does the desire for perfection that drove deGrom to a pair of Cy Young Awards before a three-year plague of injuries. Limitations expected to keep deGrom's outings short early in the season could eventually give way to bulkier starts as the playoffs approach. Getting to October is the mandate. Getting there with deGrom on the mound for Game 1 is the dream.
How to win your fantasy league: Injuries limited third baseman Josh Jung to 46 games last year and took him off the fantasy radar. The sorts of things that impede Jung -- a low on-base percentage and high strikeout rate -- aren't an issue in most leagues, and with Jung on only 8.3% of rosters and with an ADP of 255, he's a better bet than about half the third basemen being drafted ahead of him.
The best thing I heard all spring: "Jack Leiter should be closing for the Rangers by May," a scout said after watching the 24-year-old earlier this spring. Leiter is clearly a better version of himself than last year, adding a kick change and sinker this winter. He also gets allergic to the strike zone at times, typically a ticket to the bullpen. Because of Tyler Mahle's injury and Kumar Rocker's struggles, Leiter might wind up in the rotation. But as Texas enters the season without a defined closer, Leiter could find himself there if a solution doesn't present itself.
Something you might not know: Here are the 2024 leaders in wOBA against right-handed pitching: Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, Bobby Witt Jr., Rafael Devers, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and ... Joc Pederson. The 32-year-old turned in the best season of his 11-year career in 2024 and -- with Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Wyatt Langford in front of him -- should be able to top his single-season RBI peak of 74.
NL East
Atlanta Braves
Why the season hinges on Ronald Acuña Jr.: At this time last year, Ohtani's stranglehold on the Best Player In Baseball title was being contested by the most worthy candidate in years: Acuña, who had hit 41 home runs and stolen 73 bases during a unanimous-MVP-winning 2023 season. Then, for the second time in three years, Acuña tore an ACL -- left in 2024, right in 2021. The Braves' season spiraled, and questions about Acuña's ability to recapture his dynamism persist, as he has not played in spring training. Last time he blew out a knee, Acuña was just OK in his first season back. If he suffers such a fate this time around, it will make the Braves' attempts to handle the meat grinder of the NL East that much more challenging.
How to win your fantasy league: Nobody ever knows how a pitcher is going to recover from Tommy John surgery, so to suggest that Spencer Strider will return at full strength is foolish. At the same time, he was the clear No. 1 fantasy pitcher last year before his elbow injury, and now he's got an ADP of 167. The upside is vast. Park him on the bench for a month as he builds up to his big league return, then reap the spoils for the five months after.
The best thing I heard all spring: In the first week of camp, Sandy León, the well-respected veteran catcher with a dozen big league seasons, started his education of Drake Baldwin with the expectation that his wisdom could be used in 2026 and beyond. Then starting catcher Sean Murphy was hit by a pitch, cracked a rib and opened the door for Baldwin, who will turn 24 on Opening Day, to take over full-time duties. In 25 spring plate appearances, Baldwin's OPS is .994 with six walks and one strikeout. He's the next in a long line of underrated Braves prospects in recent years.
Something you might not know: The 162 Club is an exclusive group made up of players who don't miss a game in a full season. Of the four members last year, two of them were Braves: first baseman Matt Olson (a four-time member) and designated hitter Marcell Ozuna.
Miami Marlins
Why the season hinges on Sandy Alcántara: As long as he stays healthy, a trade of Alcántara might be the likeliest transaction of deadline season -- or even earlier. General manager Peter Bendix illustrated his willingness to not wait until late July to deal a player when he moved Luis Arráez to San Diego in May of last year, and Alcántara's market is bound to be more bountiful than Arráez's.
Alcántara's sinker is still full of run at 99; his changeup is one of the best pitches in baseball; and he's signed for $17 million a year in a world where starters can make $40 million-plus. If the Marlins conclude their teardown by moving Alcántara, it will be the most important deal of their rebuild and the greatest chance to add impact players to a minor league system that has improved demonstrably in the past year.
How to win your fantasy league: In less than half a season, Xavier Edwards stole 31 bases and batted .328. Surely he won't maintain his average on balls in play of .398, but Edwards still has the profile of someone warranting a selection 100 places higher than his current ADP of 244, especially with shortstops filling out most teams' second middle-infield spots on account of the paucity of productive second basemen.
The best thing I heard all spring: The Marlins have something working with their pitching development. Left-hander Ryan Weathers and right-hander Max Meyer -- both early-first-round selections, neither with sustained major league success -- have looked like future rotation staples in camp, and with the expected return of wunderkind Eury Perez from Tommy John surgery after the All-Star break, the Marlins are building the sort of staff that could buttress an Alcántara deal.
Something you might not know: The Marlins are the only team in baseball that doesn't return a player who hit at least 20 home runs last season. They traded slugger Jake Burger to the Rangers over the winter, and while their offense won't be 2011 San Diego bad -- five teams during the 60-game COVID-shortened season hit more homers than those Padres' 91 -- the Marlins' ability to reach triple digits will depend on whether Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers, their return in the Trevor Rogers trade, break out with full-time at-bats.
New York Mets
Why the season hinges on Juan Soto: Because everything in Metsland is about him. This is how it should be, of course, when a generationally talented hitter forsakes remaining a New York Yankee for the rest of his career and instead goes to Queens.
Soto has embraced his role as the franchise fulcrum, singing the praises of Mets owner Steve Cohen and what they're trying to build in a world owned by the Dodgers. And while perhaps Kodai Senga's health or quick returns from injured Sean Manaea or Frankie Montas will have a more demonstrable effect on the Mets' fortunes, this year for New York is as much about embracing the new reality that Citi Field is a destination -- maybe the destination -- for players who want to be part of the next baseball juggernaut.
How to win your fantasy league: Because it's the Mets, players tend to get slightly overvalued in drafts. It's why the relative lack of ADP jump for Clay Holmes amid his spring-training excellence is a prize to in-the-know owners. His 9⅔ innings of shutout ball is the most scoreless by any pitcher this spring, and his 13 strikeouts have come on all five of his pitches -- including four via the kick change he added over the winter. Oh, and he's owned in only 11.9% of leagues, so he'll likely be there for the taking.
The best thing I heard all spring: Brandon Sproat jumped from High-A to Triple-A last year, and the major league arrival of his fastball that reaches 102 mph will be sooner than later. Sproat ran into issues at Triple-A, leaving him one more level to conquer, but the newest generation of Mets pitchers -- Sproat and fellow right-handers Blade Tidwell, Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong -- is the best bunch in the decade since Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz made up New York's rotation.
Something you might not know: For a team with a bullpen as middling as the Mets' last year, their 28-16 record in one-run games was the ultimate sign of overachievement. Aside from signing A.J. Minter, who is coming back from hip surgery, the Mets didn't do much to improve their relief corps. If even one of those games last year flips, New York doesn't make the playoffs. Getting more out of the returning group -- particularly closer Edwin Díaz -- could make the difference between a return engagement in October and a disappointing first season of the Soto era.
Philadelphia Phillies
Why the season hinges on J.T. Realmuto: Nobody embodies the Phillies' current state of affairs better than their soon-to-be 34-year-old catcher. Philadelphia is a team of players reaching the point in their careers where age does its thing. Zack Wheeler is 34, Bryce Harper is 32, Kyle Schwarber is 32, and Trea Turner and Aaron Nola turn 32 in June.
Five years ago, that's the best core in baseball. This year, it's a matter of seeing how much is left in them.
When the Phillies made the World Series in 2022, Realmuto put up more than 6.5 WAR, seventh in baseball. As Realmuto settled into the three-win range over the past two years, the Phillies faltered. For the best version of the Phillies to show up, they need the same from Realmuto.
How to win your fantasy league: Get Cristopher Sánchez. The velo jump is real. He threw 181⅔ innings last year. And his ADP of 175 says he's affordable, too. The strikeouts won't blow anyone away, but Sánchez doesn't walk guys or give up home runs, either. He's the perfect candidate to float into the back end of the draft and thieve right from under those who don't know how good the 28-year-old left-hander really is.
The best thing I heard all spring: The Phillies are slow-rolling the return of Andrew Painter, arguably the best pitching prospect in baseball. Which is exactly what they should be doing after fortifying their rotation with Jesús Luzardo this winter.
There is zero rush for 6-foot-7 Painter to return after not pitching in an affiliated game since 2022. The expectation was that he'd debut in 2023, but Tommy John surgery scuttled that, and a slow recovery kept him out for 2024, too. His performance in the Arizona Fall League allayed any fears -- his fastball neared triple digits, and he struck out 18 while walking just four -- and afforded Philadelphia the leeway to make sure Painter's buildup is done right.
Something you might not know: In the first half, the Phillies looked like the World Series favorite, carrying the game's best record (62-34) into the All-Star break. After it, they cratered, losing nearly as many games while winning barely half what they did through mid-July (33-32). Which version of the Phillies will show up is one of the game's great burning questions entering the 2025 season.
Washington Nationals
Why the season hinges on James Wood: At times during his rookie season in 2024, Wood looked like the best player on the field, a tantalizing mix of size (6-7, 234 pounds), athleticism (he could play center if Jacob Young weren't elite there already), power, and speed. At others, he resembled someone in need of a swing overhaul to tap into his strength and get the ball in the air.
Of the 343 players who put the ball in play at least 150 times last year, Wood's average launch angle of 2.4 degrees ranked 339th. Should he figure out how to fix that, 22-year-old Wood can turn his deep well of raw talent into an All-Star-caliber player and supercharge a rebuild that's relying on him to be at its center.
How to win your fantasy league: Cheap saves are the lifeblood of any championship fantasy team, and they don't get a whole lot cheaper than Kyle Finnegan. The Nationals' closer gives up too many home runs, yes, and until that four-years-running trend ends, he'll never ascend into the elite-reliever tier. But over the past two years, his 66 saves ranks fourth in baseball, behind Emmanuel Clase (ADP 38), Josh Hader (54) and Raisel Iglesias (82). Finnegan's current ADP is 246.
The best thing I heard all spring: "The Nationals' starters look like an offensive line," said a scout who noted that GM Mike Rizzo certainly has a type. Free agent signing Michael Soroka (6-5, 250 pounds) has added two ticks to his fastball and is starting to resemble his 21-year-old self, who in 2019 posted a 2.68 ERA over 174⅔ innings. Jake Irvin (6-6, 234), Mitchell Parker (6-4, 239) and Trevor Williams (6-3, 231) could easily constitute the interior of the line. And the biggest ones -- right-handers Travis Sykora and Jarlin Susana, both 6-6 and 235 pounds with room to add weight -- are arrow-up talents who could arrive as early as 2026.
Something you might not know: Of the 520 pitches Dylan Crews saw last year as a rookie, 196 were breaking balls. Considering what he did on those pitches -- going just 4-for-41 -- he's likely to see even more spin until he proves he can hit it. Crews' whiff rate on curveballs and sliders is higher than league average but not alarming. His propensity to take spin for strikes suggests he's not seeing curveballs and sliders particularly well. If the No. 2 pick in the 2023 draft can remedy that, a breakout campaign won't be far behind.
NL Central
Chicago Cubs
Why the season hinges on Justin Steele: The real answer to this is that it hinges on Chicago's rotation, which Steele happens to anchor. The Cubs are confident they're going to score runs this season. They also might have the best defense in all of baseball. Their bullpen, with Ryan Pressly closing and a full year of Porter Hodge, could be a real problem for hitters. If Steele does his thing -- his ERA over the past three seasons: 3.18, 3.06, 3.07 -- and Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon are as good as they were last year, and Matthew Boyd carries his stuff year-over-year and the fifth rotation spot stabilizes, Chicago will solidify its status as NL Central favorite.
How to win your fantasy league: Recognize that in addition to all the Gold Gloves he's going to win in center field, Pete Crow-Armstrong can hit some, too. Crow-Armstrong is not someone who is going to wow you with huge exit-velocity numbers, but that aligns with his 5-foot-11, 184-pound size.
He is one of the fastest players in baseball and has surprising pop -- taking Kansas City ace Cole Ragans deep in a lefty-on-lefty matchup this spring impressed anyone who saw it -- that he's learning to harness. With an ADP of 235, Crow-Armstrong is currently on less than a quarter of rosters.
The best thing I heard all spring: The Cubs are giving serious consideration to putting hard-throwing right-hander Ben Brown in the rotation's fifth spot. The allure of Colin Rea, who threw 167⅔ perfectly OK innings last year, is in the high floor. Brown would be a ceiling play, fitting for a guy who stands 6-foot-6. With a high-90s fastball and monster curve, his repertoire is limited -- or even better suited for the bullpen -- but for someone of Brown's talent, he'll always have a spot as a reliever. Exhaust the possibility that he becomes a front-line starter before resigning him to the bullpen.
Something you might not know: The last time the Cubs were favored to win the Central in a full season was 2017, the year after they won their first championship in 108 years. They became betting favorites only after acquiring All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker in a trade.
Cincinnati Reds
Why the season hinges on Elly De La Cruz: In his first big league season, De La Cruz immediately established himself as a unique talent. Among the size, power, position, speed and switch-hitting, De La Cruz looked like a create-a-player around which a franchise can build. Then he went out in his first full season, hit 25 home runs, stole 67 bases and accelerated that timeline. Now it's easy to daydream about what De La Cruz can be.
He remains as powerful and fast -- only now he's doing it from a place of comfort having seen big league pitching and better understanding the game. If De La Cruz takes a Bobby Witt Jr.-type leap, the Reds are in position to do the same as the Royals did last year.
How to win your fantasy league: Appreciate the fact that not everyone pays as much attention as you do and pilfer Matt McLain out from under them. McLain sat out all of last season because of injuries and fell off the radar accordingly. Now he's going to be De La Cruz's double-play partner and hit directly ahead of him in the lineup. He'll hit for average, he'll hit for power, he'll rip a few bags and he'll make sure you don't regret picking him.
The best thing I heard all spring: Hunter Greene was coming off the best season of his career, one that would land him the Reds' Opening Day start this year, but he got too big last year. So over the winter, Greene hired a running coach, built up his endurance, got leaner and is now down more than 30 pounds to around 235. At 6-foot-5, his frame could handle the extra weight, but Greene wants to become a workhorse, and getting in tip-top shape, the hope is, will help him blow past his career-high 150⅓ innings thrown last season.
Something you might not know: The Reds are hitting the ball harder than almost every team in baseball this spring, according to Baseball Savant, with an average exit velocity of 90.5, trailing only the Dodgers, Royals, Cubs and Colorado Rockies. They also are giving up hard-hit balls, with the average exit velocity off their pitchers a major league-worst 91.5 mph
Milwaukee Brewers
Why the season hinges on Jackson Chourio: Multiple evaluators say Chourio has as good a chance as anyone in the NL to unseat Ohtani as MVP. Still just 21, Chourio homered 21 times and stole 22 bases last season before he could legally drink alcohol.
Players who ascend to the big leagues at his age are rare. Ones who perform as well as Chourio are even more scarce. Of the 28 players with more WAR than him in their age-20 season, 13 are in the Hall of Fame, Alex Rodriguez should be and the current active players include Mike Trout, Manny Machado, Juan Soto, Carlos Correa and Ronald Acuña Jr. Quite the company to keep.
How to win your fantasy league: Splurge a little and grab William Contreras. Spending on catchers is always tricky, but Contreras' bat is the best at the position by a decent margin, and the Brewers have committed to keeping it in the lineup even when he's not catching.
Among catchers this century with two-thirds of their games behind the plate, only Salvador Pérez in 2021 and Jason Kendall in 2001 played more games than Contreras' 155 last year. Christian Yelich moving to DH full time would eat into that some, but at 27, Contreras is stout enough to handle more time behind the plate.
The best thing I heard all spring: After he had surgery to repair the capsule in his right shoulder, Brandon Woodruff's future was unclear. The two-time All-Star with a career ERA of 3.10 was always an underappreciated gem, and capsule surgery has ended enough careers that it was impossible to know what version of him returned.
Earlier this week, Woodruff threw in a minor league game and ran his fastball up to 94 mph -- not quite the 97 he averaged in his best seasons but on its way. His buildup will be slow, and the Brewers have fortified their rotation accordingly. But more and more it seems Woodruff will return, and when he does, the ovation will be rightfully loud.
Something you might not know: When the Brewers traded closer Devin Williams to the Yankees, they bid farewell likewise to his Airbender, perhaps the best changeup in the world. At some point this year -- perhaps as soon as Opening Day -- they'll see a reasonable facsimile of it. Craig Yoho, an eighth-round pick out of Indiana in 2023, blasted through Milwaukee's system last year on the strength of his vicious changeup, which has immense downward and armside run. Milwaukee is among the best organizations in baseball at developing relievers, and Yoho is next in line and looks like a future closer after striking out 101 with a 0.94 ERA in 57⅔ minor league innings last year.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Why the season hinges on Paul Skenes: The only hope the Pirates have for overcoming ownership that lucks into a generational talent and refuses to spend in free agency to take advantage of his brilliance is that talent turning in an all-time sophomore season. Which, with Skenes, is not out of the realm of possibility.
The hype for Skenes' debut last year was huge. He met it, exceeded it and came into spring training with a new cutter to complement his fastball, splinker, slider, sweeper and changeup. Rare is the pitcher good enough to carry his team to the postseason, but then rare is the pitcher with the arsenal and competitiveness of Skenes.
How to win your fantasy league: Address the paucity of good outfielders with Oneil Cruz -- and, as a bonus, get a just-in-case shortstop in the process. Cruz's midseason move to center field last year gifts his owners a year of dual eligibility, and the lack of impact outfield bats beyond the first three rounds of the draft suggest a strategy to grab an outfielder when you can. And with some of the best raw power in baseball, the 26-year-old Cruz is a 35-homer season waiting to happen.
The best thing I heard all spring: Bubba Chandler, one evaluator said, should break camp with the team and spend all year in the big leagues so the Pirates can reap the draft pick if he wins Rookie of the Year -- something they didn't do last year with Skenes.
Alas, Chandler was reassigned to minor league camp last week, but the evaluator's point is more important. With Skenes and Jared Jones, the Pirates already have two of the most dynamic arms in baseball. Chandler's 98 mph fastball and 89 mph slider put him on that level and give Pittsburgh the sort of hope it hasn't felt in a generation.
Something you might not know: In the past four years, right fielder Bryan Reynolds has hit 24, 27, 24 and 24 home runs. It's not quite Khris Davis batting .247 on the dot for four consecutive seasons, but Reynolds' consistency is perhaps the only thing upon which the Pirates can rely in a lineup that needed help and didn't get any. The only teams with payrolls lower than the Pirates' $90.1 million, according to Baseball Prospectus, are the Rays ($81.7 million), the A's ($78.6 million), the White Sox ($74.4 million) and the Marlins ($69.4 million).
St. Louis Cardinals
Why the season hinges on Masyn Winn: Mainly because he's about the only player who is guaranteed to stay with the team for the entire season. Winn, who turns 23 right before Opening Day, is St. Louis' shortstop of the present and future, and between a bat that emerged last year and a cannon of an arm he doesn't hesitate to show off, Winn will be called upon to help carry the Cardinals through the limbo of a winter in which they were expected to move a number of players and instead did nothing.
If everything breaks right, the Cardinals could find themselves in the playoff mix, but that's more an indictment on the NL Central than it is any sort of huzzah for St. Louis' roster. For Winn, this year is more about taking a leap toward being a top-tier shortstop than harboring championship aspirations.
How to win your fantasy league: Snipe Iván Herrera with a late-round pick if you need a catcher. In part-time at-bats last year, the 24-year-old hit .301/.372/.428, and there's no compelling reason for him to split time, even if Pedro Pagés' defense is superior to Herrera's. With on-base machine Jimmy Crooks on the verge of the big leagues, it's time to see if Herrera is the long-term solution, and full-time duties are the easiest way to determine that.
The best thing I heard all spring: Left-hander Quinn Mathews is one of the smartest players in baseball, a Stanford graduate who carved Single-A, High-A and Double-A last year before losing command and stumbling at Triple-A. The excitement over Mathews has not relented at all in camp this year, and whether it's by trading Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, Miles Mikolas or Steven Matz, they're bound to find a rotation spot for him by season's end.
Something you might not know: In the live ball era, the lowest win total over three seasons for the Cardinals came in 1954-56, when they went 216-246. They almost certainly will avoid that ignominy -- they're 154-170 over the past two seasons -- but if things go awry, they'll need at least 71 wins to remain better than the 1976-78 Cardinals, who were 224-262.
NL West
Arizona Diamondbacks
Why the season hinges on Corbin Carroll: On June 1 last year, Carroll entered the 58th game of the Diamondbacks' season hitting .197/.282/.291. The batting average was unsightly, the on-base percentage wobbly and the slugging percentage thumpless. Carroll resembled someone who belonged in the minor leagues, not the recipient of a $111 million contract extension. Carroll righted himself eventually, though it was too late to propel the Diamondbacks back into the postseason a year after they reached the World Series.
Between Carroll and their $210 million free agent signing, right-hander Corbin Burnes, the Diamondbacks are banking on Corbins to help them navigate the treacherous NL West and get back to the postseason, where in their last run they swept the Dodgers in the division series.
How to win your fantasy league: Take a risk and grab A.J. Puk, knowing that if Arizona doesn't make him its closer, his peripheral numbers will still benefit you team and he'll be in line for the job. Puk has been better than Justin Martinez and Kevin Ginkel this spring, but having a left-hander who also punishes right-handed batters to insert into high-leverage situations is a manager's dream. Either way, the lack of clarity on the Diamondbacks' late-inning situation has driven down the ADP of all their relievers, and any good fantasy manager knows not to pass up on a bargain when it presents itself.
The best thing I heard all spring: Jordan Lawlar's Spanish accent. The Diamondbacks' top prospect spent the winter playing for Licey in the Dominican Republic, and his studying Spanish in past years to communicate better with players from Latin America paid off. Lawlar, still just 22, is a natural shortstop now blocked after Geraldo Perdomo's four-year, $45 million extension. With Eugenio Suárez reaching free agency after this season, his time could be coming, and in the meantime, Lawlar is an ideal backup option if Perdomo, Suárez or second baseman Ketel Marte go down because of an injury.
Something you might not know: The 2024 Diamondbacks were the first team to lead the major leagues in runs scored and not make the postseason since the 2011 Red Sox, who finished 69-93 the next season. Of course, Boston then won the 2013 World Series.
Colorado Rockies
Why the season hinges on Ezequiel Tovar: Namely, is the 23-year-old shortstop to whom the Rockies guaranteed $63.5 million capable of evolving beyond his doesn't-walk, strikes-out-way-too-much approach or is that simply who he is?
Even with the warts -- Tovar punched out 200 times while walking only 23 times in 695 plate appearances last year -- he managed to whack 75 extra-base hits, third among shortstops behind Bobby Witt Jr. and Gunnar Henderson. Tovar had more extra-base hits than MVP runner-up Francisco Lindor, Elly De La Cruz, Willy Adames, Corey Seager and Trea Turner, among others. His glovework at short is also exquisite. So, while the Rockies find themselves parked in a perpetual no-man's land, at least the floor for the most important position in the field is high.
How to win your fantasy league: (Warning: ESPN is not liable for damages stemming from the suggestion to draft a Colorado Rockies pitcher.) The Rockies occasionally find a reliever who carves out a few solid seasons -- Bruce Ruffin, Darren Holmes, Brian Fuentes, Adam Ottavino, Scott Oberg -- but Seth Halvorsen is different.
With a fastball that sits at 100 mph, a tilting slider and a diving splitter, Halvorsen brings pure stuff. He has struggled this spring, but then so has pretty much every Rockies reliever, and at the end of the day, Halvorsen's power gives them the best chance in the ninth inning.
The best thing I heard all spring: Speaking of Rockies pitchers, two scouts said Chase Dollander has a chance to be the best starter in franchise history. Damning with faint praise aside, it speaks to the ascent of Dollander, who at one point was the favorite to go with the top pick in the 2023 draft, only to slip below Skenes, Crews and six other players. A middle-of-the-year call-up for Dollander is not out of the question, particularly with Rockies starting pitchers last year posting an MLB-worst 5.54 ERA -- an improvement from 5.91 in 2023.
Something you might not know: Until 2023, the Rockies had never lost 100 games in a season. Since then, they have done it in consecutive seasons, and if they reach triple digits again this year, they'll be the 13th franchise -- and the first since the tear-it-down Astros from 2011-13 -- to post three straight 100-plus-loss campaigns. The record of five in a row belongs to the 1938-42 Philadelphia Phillies. The only franchise to never lose 100 games? Shockingly, the Los Angeles Angels.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Why the season hinges on Shohei Ohtani: The entire baseball universe seems to hinge on Ohtani, who exists in a rarified place for a baseball player: international superstardom. He's the best player in the world, sure, but every year he seems to break the game in a new way. At first, it was the novelty of a two-way player and then the acknowledgement that he wasn't just doing something new but setting an impossible-to-reach bar in the same way Babe Ruth had a century earlier.
Without the ability to pitch last year because of his second Tommy John surgery, Ohtani broke new ground, becoming the first player to hit 50-plus home runs and steal 50-plus bases in a season. For an encore to his MVP- and World Series-winning season, Ohtani is expected to return to the mound in May with a legion of new fans who can see him at peak wondrousness.
How to win your fantasy league: Second base is a black hole this year, and the demotion of free agent Hyeseong Kim to begin the season offers an opportunity for Tommy Edman to lock down the job. Edman qualifies at outfield and shortstop, too, and his postseason performance last year showcased his manifold skills. With an ADP of 190, he's far from the best Dodgers fantasy player. For versatility and value, though, he's near the top.
The best thing I heard all spring: Outfield prospect Zyhir Hope, who is listed at 5-foot-10 and 193 pounds, squatted 850 pounds earlier this spring. (For context, a 400-pound squat is considered excellent.) Hope, acquired in the Michael Busch trade last year, hit .290/.419/.484 in his first full minor league season last year and could shoot up prospect rankings in 2025, making an already-excellent farm system that much better.
Something you might not know: The Dodgers' luxury-tax payroll is currently projected around $399 million, according to Baseball Prospectus. At that number, they would pay around $150 million in penalties. Which means the Dodgers right now are carrying nearly a $550 million payroll for 2025 -- more than the combined salaries of the Marlins, White Sox, A's, Rays, Pirates and Guardians.
San Diego Padres
Why the season hinges on Jackson Merrill: All Merrill did last year was learn center field on the fly in spring training, show a propensity for hitting huge late-inning home runs, and prompt every Padres fan in the world to thank their lucky stars that general manager A.J. Preller insisted on keeping Merrill out of the package that landed Juan Soto in a 2022 trade.
Merrill, who turns 22 in April, is now the face of a franchise loaded with talent and seen the same way as Milwaukee's Chourio: a future MVP.
Padres officials rave about Merrill's capacity and desire to learn, and say they believe Merrill is already much improved from last year, when he hit .292/.326/.500. In time, we'll learn if he can bump that on-base percentage up or become one of the best defensive center fielders in baseball. For now, though, the Padres are content to simply have one of the best players in the league under control through the end of the 2029 season.
How to win your fantasy league: In his first full season as a starter, Michael King threw 173 innings of 2.95 ERA ball. Stretched out and with free agency beckoning, King is primed to add innings and put himself in the upper echelon of starters. He'll be pricey, sure, but good things tend to be, right?
The best thing I heard all spring: Fair or not, there's an expectation of failure for starting pitchers who don't sign until after spring training has begun, which brings us to the case of Nick Pivetta, the right-hander whose deal with the Padres constituted the most spending they've done this winter.
It's just spring training, so there's no sense in getting excited about Pivetta's raw numbers in his first two starts: five innings, one hit, two walks, seven strikeouts. At the same time, evaluators said, Pivetta's raw stuff looks good enough that they've bought in, and if King and Dylan Cease can replicate their phenomenal 2024s, the Padres will sport a rotation that's among the best in baseball.
Something you might not know: Only five of MLB's 30 teams have never won a World Series: the Brewers, Mariners, Rays, Rockies and, yes, the Padres. (The Mariners are the lone team never to have even made it to one.)
San Francisco Giants
Why the season hinges on Willy Adames: The Giants have been the best team in the Cactus League this spring by a significant margin thanks to phenomenal pitching and a dynamic offense led by the left side of their infield. At third base is Matt Chapman, whom they signed to a $151 million contract, and at shortstop is Adames, the 29-year-old who earned a $182 million payday over the winter from San Francisco.
To this point in his career, Adames has been a very good player, the kind you can comfortably pencil in for three wins above replacement. The Giants need him to be more, though, and that's bound to be the question that defines this team: Is there enough excellence to claw out of the .500 club, where they've spent the past three years? Adames intends to answer in the affirmative.
How to win your fantasy league: Every fantasy player knows the Robbie Ray trap. He is the avatar for every pitcher with exceptional stuff and an intermittent history of success. As wired as we are to be skeptical about players with inconsistent performance, the Ray trap ensnares fantasy managers who see players through the lens of their peak. Ray is now four years removed from his AL Cy Young-winning 2021 campaign, but five shutout innings with nine strikeouts in the spring is the perfect bait. Prepare to be called a mark, a sucker, a rube. But for a guy with an ADP of 248, there's an argument to be made that drafting him makes you none of those. You are just trapped and you can't do anything about it.
The best thing I heard all spring: The way people in Giants camp talked about first baseman Bryce Eldridge was a mixture of reverence and awe. And considering Eldridge is barely 20 and not even two full years out of high school, he has made quite the impression in a short amount of time and set himself up to join Adames and Chapman in the infield -- perhaps as soon as this summer.
Something you might not know: When he makes his first outing for the Giants, 42-year-old Justin Verlander will become the oldest player to start a game for the team since a 45-year-old Randy Johnson took the ball 17 times in 2009. Someday Verlander will join Johnson in the Hall of Fame, though until then, he'll keep adding to the list of categories in which he ranks first among active players: innings pitched (3,415), strikeouts (3,416), starts (526) and complete games (26).