Partners National

Report-card season can be a stressful time of year. Just ask clubs like the Oakland Athletics and the Milwaukee Brewers, who will be racing to their mailboxes to snag those progress reports before their owners find out just how poorly they've done.

While Oakland and Milwaukee have been among the game's biggest duds, an array of clubs have aced the opening quarter of the MLB season.

This is one exclusive club. Simply put, there just aren't that many big leaguers who earn the title of MLB superstar.

Players like Clayton Kershaw and Miguel Cabrera easily fit the bill, and each season, a host of rising stars aim to join the ranks. "Superstar" is a tricky term to define. For the purposes of this list, the idea is to find five big leaguers on the verge of joining that stratosphere.

Mr. Commissioner, enough with the pace-of-play rules. For your next move as the face of MLB, can you make players wear a sign around their neck during spring training that says "WARNING: ALL STATS SHOULD BE TAKEN IN CONTEXT"?

A few weeks back, I published my top 100 players for the 2015 MLB season, and, as always, it sparked some terrific debate in the comments section.

So let's dig a little deeper.

Who are the top 100 players of the 21st century?

Full-squad workouts are officially underway in Arizona and Florida, and a full slate of spring training games is set to kick off Wednesday as we move ever closer to Opening Day.

There is a lot to be sorted out between now and the start of the season, with position battles to be played out, injuries to be dealt with and 25-man rosters to be set heading into the year.

To put it simply, there are significant questions facing all 30 MLB teams, regardless of their outlook for the upcoming season.

Spring training is now in full swing around the league, and the 2015 MLB season is drawing closer with each day.

Full squad workouts have begun, and the first spring training games are slated to begin next week, as we are now a little over a month from Opening Day.

In the meantime, the prediction and preview articles will continue to flow, as we gear up for what promises to be another exciting season of baseball.

What follows is my take on what will wind up being the best and worst offseason move for each MLB team.

With the arrival of spring training also meaning the arrival of prediction season, you might even say it's our duty to take a whack at predicting who will win some hardware when it's time for 2015 MLB awards.

So that's what we're here to do. Ahead of you are picks for the four major awards—Manager of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and Most Valuable Player—in the American League and National League, complete with what passes for reasonable analysis at this juncture.

Step into the box whenever you're ready.

All 30 MLB teams emphasize building from within and cultivating their own homegrown talent. A lot of it has to do with payroll, as small-market teams are forced to get the most out of their controllable young assets, while big-market teams can afford to deal prospects and spend big in free agency

Pass the mashed potatoes, please, while we count our blessings.

Family? Definitely. Friends? Absolutely. Food on the table and a roof over our heads? You bet. Mom's homemade pumpkin pie? Yessir (with whipped cream, please).

And then there are the New York Yankees.

The 2014 MLB trade deadline is still two months away, but it's never too early to get the rumor mill churning. There is still a lot of baseball to be played, as most teams have not yet established themselves as buyers or sellers. But we can already start to paint a picture of who will be available at the July 31 non-waiver deadline.