Preview/Prediction

Yoenis Cespedes and Noah Syndergaard may have trotted into spring training for the New York Mets atop horses, but neither the players nor their steeds are what we'd call a dark horse.

The games may not count, but with the 2016 exhibition season officially underway, baseball has finally returned. Split squads, games pitting professionals against amateurs and a slew of players who have little chance of cracking an Opening Day roster are all on display as we creep closer to the regular season.

We could talk about Major League Baseball's most dominant starting rotations going into 2016, but that's too easy. Instead, let's gaze waaaaaaaaaay into the future.

As in, all the way to the year 2020.

It's not a disaster that rising stars like Corey Seager and J.P. Crawford landed berths on the list of 2016 MLB rookies who are being hyped up too soon.

What their inclusions signal is that these players performed so impressively in 2015 that they are both now facing monstrous expectations as the new campaign looms. The pair of shortstops represent the two types of players who cracked this list.

Fact: Spring training has gotten off to a hectic start in 2016.

A three-team trade nearly came to fruition; a former All-Star was disciplined under MLB's domestic-violence policy; and Dexter Fowler, Yovani Gallardo and Juan Uribe all found new homes in the American League.

With a slew of notable players still available as free agents, including Ian Desmond, Austin Jackson and Tim Lincecum, and multiple teams still looking to fill offseason holes, chances are things won't slow down anytime soon.

It's admittedly a tad early to talk about Major League Baseball's 2016 awards season, but you know what they say: A day in spring training without predictions is like a day without sunshine!

Or, in other words: eh, might as well.

We'll be putting our focus on the four major awards in the American and National League. In case you're new to baseball or have just arrived from an alien planet—either way, here's bidding you welcome—those would be the Manager of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and Most Valuable Player.

With spring training ramping up, teams across Major League Baseball are just about ready to start playing fake games. For the contenders, the idea will be to prepare to win as many real games as they can.

But how many real games will each contender win this season? We can't put too fine a point on it, but we can at least play around with the over/unders.

For rising star Mookie Betts and prominent trade acquisition Todd Frazier, it's far from a disaster that they've landed berths on the 2016 MLB All-Hype Team.

What that means is that the Boston Red Sox's right fielder and the Chicago White Sox's new third baseman posted such impressive overall numbers in 2015 that they're now the subject of unrealistic expectations.

There are generally two different types of players who find themselves as non-roster invitees for an MLB team during spring training.

The Major League Baseball offseason has been as entertaining and unpredictable as we could have hoped, yet several big-name players remain in free agency.

As spring training has just gotten underway, it's time for front offices to fine-tune their rosters before the regular season gets started.

While some of the available free agents are experienced veterans and others are young guys looking for a fresh start, the talent level remains high among available players.