Preview/Prediction

The countdown to Opening Day is down to mere days, and with each passing hour, the anticipation and excitement for the return of meaningful baseball only grows. That anticipation doesn't just lie with fans, either. It affects players, pundits, managers and front office executives as well.

For those last two groups, that excitement and anticipation is mixed with pressure and anxiety. Final roster decisions need to be made, putting them in potentially uncomfortable positions, especially when it involves delivering bad news to players about their Opening Day status.

The term "superstar" gets thrown around way too liberally these days. It should be reserved for a select few players who not only impact the game in multiple ways, but also have something extra—an immeasurable trait that sets them apart from their peers.

Some might call it arrogance or swagger, but that's not it. There's just something different with these players—something special that executives, fans, pundits and teammates can't quite put their fingers on.

Spring training not only serves as training camp for MLB teams, but it provides general managers and coaching staffs the chance to evaluate their overall rosters and, hopefully, address any areas of need before the end of camp.

With the regular season quickly approaching, time is running out for teams to address those needs, and some may be left considering in-house options who, while not ideal solutions for what ails the roster, are the best available options at the moment.

With Opening Day creeping up on the calendar, teams across Major League Baseball are getting close to resolving one of very few things that matter in spring training: position battles.

But rather than wait for official answers, we're going to pretend like we know everything and predict what the answers will be.

We have our eyes on 10 of the spring's most hotly contested position battles. These are the battles where there's not only an important position at stake but also more than one worthy contestant in the running.

We've reached the point in spring training when teams begin to get down to the nitty-gritty, shipping prospects back to minor league camp and letting veterans in camp on minor league deals out of their contracts, preparing to get the show on the road for Opening Day.

But that shuffling won't be the only roster moves teams make over the next two weeks. Free-agent signings, and even a trade or two, are sure to transpire.

With the start of the 2016 Major League Baseball season now fast approaching, there's only one thing to do:

ACTIVATE THE HYPE MACHINE!

This is just our biased opinion, but baseball is a fine sport that always offers plenty to get excited about whenever a new season is on deck. Heck, in a league with 30 teams and hundreds of players, there's really no end to the reasons to be excited.

But for the sake of brevity, let's cut it down to a list of 50. If you'll follow me this way, we can get started...

It seems as if spring training has only just begun, but in less than 20 days—17 to be exact—teams will step on the field to play the first meaningful baseball of 2016. The start of the regular season is almost upon us, and while some roster decisions have been made, there are plenty of questions left to answer.

Is a pair of prospects set to break camp with a contender? Have two veteran, journeymen pitchers thrown their way onto Opening Day rosters? Does a new addition to the free-agent pool already have another team lined up?

We've tried our hand at predicting each team's Opening Day roster a few times so far this offseason, but now that we have some actual spring action to base things on, it's time for a significantly more in-depth dive into each team's likely roster.

What follows is a projected 25-man roster for each team.

Players that are written in bold on the roster are viewed as locks, and we didn't waste time discussing their roster status.

While excitement and optimism reign supreme in spring training, the injury bug's yearly debut has quashed some of those good vibes in a number of camps.

The most dominant offense in Major League Baseball this season will probably belong to the Toronto Blue Jays. After what they did last year, call it a hunch.

But in the year 2020? Now that's a good question.