Preview/Prediction

The 2014 season is nearing its final month, so that means it may be time to start thinking of what the New York Mets' 2015 team could look like.

Most of the current team should return next season unless any potential trades happen during the offseason. Some trades at certain positions would be nice, but if next season's roster is very similar or identical to the current roster, here is what a likely 2015 Opening Day lineup could look like.

A smart string of September call-ups can often be the difference between a playoff berth and a phone call to the local golf course.

When MLB rosters expand to 40 on September 1, expect some of the game's top youngsters to get the call to the majors. The New York Yankees will certainly make some additions, but who will be brought up to help the team's run at the American League Wild Card?

With MLB rosters set to expand in September, this is a chance for most teams to bolster their major league depth by calling up some of their top prospects from the minors.

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips, who went hitless in his first game back from the disabled list Monday, needs just two more hits to reach 1,500 for his career.

For the past several seasons, expanded September rosters have provided the Seattle Mariners with a chance to look toward the future.

Things are a little different in 2014. The Mariners are firmly in contention for a playoff spot, meaning they will be focusing on the present rather than giving playing time to prospects.

With each passing day, regular-season games become all the more important as the clock continues to tick on the regular season.

It's not as if the season is going to end tomorrow—there's still more than a month of action left to unfold—but as teams jockey for position in the standings, it's hard not to think about some of the matchups we could see in the World Series.

Following the disaster in Colorado, most Cincinnati Reds fans finally said farewell to a painful season full of hopes and what-ifs. That was, of course, before another walk-off defeat in St. Louis.

While the attitude inside of the clubhouse is probably still focused on 2014, the fact remains that this depleted Reds team probably won't be able to compete for the last wild-card spot (they need to jump four teams now), so the focus will shift to 2015.

The progress the young guns have made in the minor leagues this season is encouraging for the Chicago Cubs' future. As long as they add some quality pitching in free agency this offseason, they should actually be a pretty interesting team in 2015. Their lineup should also improve by adding prospects at the start of the year. 

With the New York Mets not doing particularly well this season, many fans are probably looking forward to the 2015 season by now. The Mets have a lot of young pitching in particular, which makes the future for the team look very bright.

From an update on who could be replacing Bud Selig to the news of another potential wave of performance-enhancing-drug suspensions, it's been a busy week in MLB.

What follows are the 10 biggest takeaways from this week's MLB action. The storylines are ranked in order of their expected impact as the season winds down. The countdown includes headlines from on and off the diamond. While the league zeroes in on Selig's successor, one of the game's most polarizing players is making a dark-horse MVP run.