AL West

The expectations placed on George Springer have never been higher. 

As a college player at Connecticut, they were already on the rise. After the Houston Astros drafted him 11th overall in 2011, those expectations again grew, and by the time he finished his second full minor league season in 2013 with a .303/.411/.600 line to go with a 1.010 OPS, 37 home runs and 108 RBI, he was a potential star.

The injuries keep piling up for the Texas Rangers in spring training. Right-hander Anthony Ranaudo left Thursday's game against the Chicago White Sox with an arm injury.    

Continue for updates. 

Spring is the perfect time for young, inexperienced players to take that next step forward into one of the game's elites. With the importance of the games, and thus the pressure on the players, decreased compared to that of the regular season, it is a time for youth prospects to thrive.

At the center of the latest controversy for Major League Baseball is an aging, embattled, injury-prone, high-priced former MVP. And for once, it isn't Alex Rodriguez.

Houston Astros outfielder George Springer made his anticipated big league debut on April 17 last year. Springer, Houston's first-round pick (11th overall) in 2011, was thrown into the fire immediately and struggled a bit from the start.

Houston Astros star prospect Mark Appel is battling for a spot on the team's 25-man roster and stated he is now able to pitch after deailing with an injury during spring training.

Continue for updates.

This news rarely turns in the other direction. 

The Texas Rangers might not know for sure yet, as Yu Darvish discussed (via Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News), but the sprain in his ulnar collateral ligament is likely to lead to Tommy John surgery. He will be done for this season.

The Seattle Mariners will take the field for the first time since September tomorrow when they play the San Diego Padres in their opening spring training game.

Position players reported to the Seattle Mariners' team complex in Peoria, Arizona, on Tuesday, meaning the team is ready to begin organized workouts ahead of its first spring training game on March 4.

In late 2013, shortly after the Detroit Tigers were eliminated from the playoffs in the ALCS, they traded Prince Fielder to the Rangers in exchange for Ian Kinsler.

It was a huge blockbuster at the time, and analysts immediately started predicting how potent the Rangers lineup would be with Fielder and powerful third baseman Adrian Beltre hitting in the middle of the order.