Opinion

The Boston Red Sox have one of the better minor league systems in baseball, but not every prospect is going to be a star.

Fans rely on writers to help analyze young talent and predict who will even reach the big leagues, let alone be successful there.

Every Major League Baseball offseason has its own quirks and peculiarities, but this offseason has been sort of like a Tim Burton movie crossed with a Wes Anderson movie. 

The free-agent market has been greatly altered by new rules in baseball's latest collective bargaining agreement, and altered even further by the unwillingness of certain teams to be as aggressive as they usually are. That same reality has impacted the trade market as well.

Gregor Blanco—the San Francisco Giants projected starting left fielder—hit just .244/.333/.344 with five home runs last year.

Andres Torres—the free agent the Giants brought in to compete with Blanco—hit just .230/.327/.337 with three home runs last year.

January isn't the best month for baseball junkies. It's MLB's no man's land—a slow stretch of time between the main nerve of the hot stove season and spring training. 

This January, however, brought some drama for a change.

The hot stove provided more heat than usual, as high-profile free-agent deals were struck, and a couple trades were made as well. One of those was the Justin Upton blockbuster we'd been waiting for since the mid-18th century.

There is a youth movement going on in Major League Baseball, and it took a huge step forward in 2012.

Super-prospects Mike Trout and Bryce Harper became superstar players seemingly overnight, while fellow youngsters Jason Heyward and Giancarlo Stanton further established themselves as young stars.

On the mound, Stephen Strasburg pitched his first (sorta-)full season in the majors in 2012. While he dazzled with his right arm, Chris Sale quietly dazzled with his left.

With a fresh season on the horizon, there's a simple question begging to be asked: Who's next?

As the longtime debate regarding performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) in Major League Baseball comes to the forefront once again, so too do the questions about the Hall of Fame.

So far, the testing process seems to have had little, if any, deterrent effect on those who use within the sport.

Another day, another instance of controversial news regarding New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

Have the Philadelphia Phillies made enough improvements to their roster to compete with the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves in the NL East? 

The Atlanta Braves' lineup with newly acquired outfielder Justin Upton has been analyzed to the 10th degree.

Consequently, It is time to break down the team's pitching rotation as we head closer to spring training. 

The New York Yankees were linked to some big-time players in their search for a powerful righty hitter to add to their outfield depth chart. Justin Upton and Mike Morse come to mind, to name a couple.

Instead, it looks like the Yankees are ready and willing to go into spring training with a motley crew of righty sticks for their outfield and then figure it out from there.