Chicago Cubs

While the weather certainly doesn't feel like it, the Cubs are set to open their season against the Cardinals on Sunday night in the first MLB game of the year. With the new season getting underway, a new era of Cubs baseball will be ushered in.

Kris Bryant, arguably the best prospect in baseball and inarguably the crusher of more home runs than any other player this spring training, will start the 2015 season in the minor league. But don't blame the Chicago Cubs—blame Major League Baseball.

After all, it's the rules that made this decision entirely inevitable and anything but surprising.

Even though the 2015 Chicago Cubs baseball season is just a week away, the hot topic of discussion lately has not been the state of the team; rather, it has been the fate of the historic Wrigley Field.

Chairman Tom Ricketts has already announced that the ballpark will not be ready for Opening Day, and renovations could take an extra year to complete.

The Chicago Cubs will be without Starlin Castro for at least a short period of time due to a groin issue. 

Continue for updates. 

ESPN: Castro Is Day-to-Day

Saturday, Mar. 21

According to Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago, Castro was scratched from the Cubs lineup Saturday against Seattle:

There is an overwhelming hope that the 2015 Chicago Cubs will be a competitive group. That hope comes from the fact the team made several savvy offseason moves and its prospects are finally ready to make an impact at the big league level.

In just over two weeks, the season will open at Wrigley Field and the Cubs will take on the rival St Louis Cardinals. You better believe the atmosphere is going to be the most electric it's been in Wrigleyville in several years.

Kris Bryant has been labeled a future star ever since his college days at the University of San Diego. He crushed a nation-leading 31 home runs in his junior season, and that incredible production made him the second overall pick in the 2013 MLB draft.

His effectiveness at the plate has not decreased as he has risen up the professional ladder. As hard as it is to believe, it has improved.

The Chicago Cubs don't have a ton of position competitions during this year's spring training, but a few key battles are currently going on.

Most aren't at key spots, but the outcomes of the battles could end up being very important nonetheless.

At these four spots, the competition is starting to heat up. Here's a look at which players have the upper hands in those battles based on their overall skill sets and what they've shown so far this spring.

By all rights, the biggest star on the field during Thursday's exhibition between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels should have been the guy who played Ron Burgundy, Ricky Bobby and Lord Business.

Perhaps the most difficult struggle throughout winter 2015 in Chicago is not the frigid cold, but instead the anxious await of the return of baseball to Wrigley Field. As the Cubs get into the full swing of spring training, fans of the Lovable Losers can't help but become even more excited about the upcoming season.

The Chicago Cubs are going to pay for the funeral of legendary infielder Ernie Banks after the company that handled the services filed a claim that it hadn't been paid amid a legal battle over the Hall of Famer's estate.