Rankings/List

Whether it's at the lowest levels of amateur baseball or in MLB, few positions have a bigger impact on a team's success—or lack thereof—than catcher. Not only are these players expected to contribute offensively, but they must masterfully handle a pitching staff and control the opposition's running game.

As always, it's been a busy offseason around Major League Baseball, with teams already crossing off a number of items on their winter shopping lists.

Earlier this offseason, a piece entitled "All 30 MLB Teams' Blueprint to an 'A' Grade in the 2016-17 Offseason" was written by yours truly as a to-do list of sorts for each team to follow.

Let's pretend for a moment that each MLB team's offseason was evaluated in a way similar to that of a college football or basketball program. Free-agent signings and trade additions would be assigned a rating from 1-5 on the "star" scale, and the complete class of new additions would be graded from there.

Desperation can only be born out of an impending deadline. As it pertains to sports, that boundary could be a trade deadline or the beginning of the season.

In the case of baseball and this offseason, that's the start of spring training in 2017. But that's only a hard deadline for those teams looking to compete this summer. Those in rebuilding mode don't need to concern themselves with 2017, as they can make a deal when the time feels right or an enticing offer comes along.

Not every baseball fan keeps an eye on prospect development and the minor league ranks, but most are familiar with the top prospects around the league.

It wasn't just Boston Red Sox fans and Washington Nationals fans whose ears perked up when they heard that Yoan Moncada and Lucas Giolito had been traded during the winter meetings.

So what exactly is it that makes a previously unheralded prospect a household name? We'll lump them into two categories:

The winter meetings always provide a good deal of excitement around the MLB community, and this year has been no different.

While this year's meetings won't officially wrap up until Thursday afternoon following the Rule 5 draft, there have been enough trades and free-agent signings that it's worth taking an updated look at where things stand around the league.

This will be the first time we've updated our power rankings since the conclusion of the regular season, so here are a few things to keep in mind:

The MLB regular season is long over and the Arizona Fall League recently wrapped up, but there's still baseball being played in the Caribbean as a number of prospects and fringe veterans are working hard in the various winter leagues.

The Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Mexico all play host to competitive winter leagues, with the winners from those four leagues and the Cuban national team converging for the annual Caribbean Series at the beginning of February.

The focus of MLB offseason conversations is generally on what players teams could potentially add to fill areas of need, but often times the answer is already in-house.

A team's top prospects, at least the ones on the cusp of reaching the majors, can often make a bigger impact than anyone the team might acquire during the offseason.

Take the Detroit Tigers for example.

Superstar-caliber players generally dominate headlines each MLB offseason.

They will be agreeing to big-money deals and are often viewed as the missing piece that could push a team over the top in its pursuit of a championship.

However, scouring the market for bargains and taking a flier on a potential bounce-back candidate can be just as important in building a successful contender.

Major League Baseball free agency doesn't always set up great for everyone.

Of course, there are players whose outstanding 2016 seasons positioned them well for a big payday this winter. But there are also those whose campaigns took a divergent path.

A handful of players had forgettable 2016 seasons, making them reclamation projects for whichever teams elect to sign them. But some might be worth the risk. Many are poised to have bounce-back seasons.

Who might be worth taking a chance on in this winter's free agency?