Preview/Prediction

The excitement surrounding the new season officially began when the first pitches were thrown out on Monday. The Atlanta Braves still have unanswered questions about their starting rotation, which should be settled in the next few weeks.

Last year, the Kansas City Royals were playoff contenders for much of the season.

After winning 86 games during the 2013 campaign, KC is looking to build on that in 2014.

In order to get there, the Royals will need several players to step up and play at a higher level this season.

Here are five players the Royals need big contributions from this year.

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Last June, the Pittsburgh Pirates received a booster shot that they may reap the benefits from for years to come.  That insurance was the debut of the first pick in the 2011 amateur draft, starting pitcher Gerrit Cole.  

The Oakland A's have traveled to Arizona for another year of spring training camp. With returnees, new signings, freshly acquired players, prospects and a slew of non-roster invitees, it's time to break down the A's, position by position.

Most positions are all but locked up already but that doesn't mean others are short on competition.

Tim Lincecum may no longer be “The Freak” he once was. His days of being the Giants frontline starter are long gone as Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner have become the top two pitchers of the staff.

In the current era of free agency that sees players jump ship and move on to the highest bidder on a yearly basis, it's becoming more and more rare that a player spends his entire career with one team.

That said, there have been some terrific players who retired or are set to retire in recent years that spent the duration of their career with one club.

Spring training is finally upon us! The Los Angeles Dodgers have reported to camp, and baseball is underway. The Dodgers head into March with several legitimate questions that they must figure out, as well as a couple issues that they must monitor.

Many of these questions are health-related. The lineup is likely set, and in an ideal world, the Dodgers would probably know all but one or two spots of their Opening Day roster at this point.

Now that the 2014 spring training is fully underway, The New York Yankees can officially begin their quest to return to the top of the American League East standings and the playoffs.

This camp is certainly going to have a different feel than many of the previous visits to George M. Steinbrenner Field.

This is the first camp since 1995 that Mariano Rivera won't be an active part of.

After an arduous winter that hammered much of the country with freezing temperatures and heavy snow, there may be no better words in all of sports than “pitchers and catchers report.”

While that has already happened, there are plenty of notable dates remaining on MLB’s spring training schedule for the 2014 season. 

Let’s preview some of them.

Tuesday, Feb. 25: College Day

As we head toward the first games of spring training, the Cincinnati Reds' roster contains quite a few "ifs." Fortunately, some of those "ifs" are in a position to break out both in spring training and the 2014 regular season.

The 2014 version of this list contains a few familiar faces. However, two prospects joined the rank of breakout candidates, with one holding the potential to make himself into one of the most dynamic players in all of baseball.