Rankings/List

While the Phillies system is thin on projectable talent and ranks in the bottom tier among all organizations, things are starting to look up thanks to the emergence of slugger Maikel Franco and shortstop J.P. Crawford.

Coming off the winter meetings and holiday season, Major League Baseball teams can start getting back into the swing of things. It's been a fairly quiet trade season, at least based on our expectations at the end of the 2013 season, but that doesn't mean there aren't moves to be made. 

In fact, one could argue that we will see more activity on the trade market now that we are edging closer to seeing the top free agents come off the market. Once teams have an idea of where the rest of the market is, it will be easier to open things up for deals. 

The Chicago Cubs' collection of top prospects is among the best in baseball, with four players who will rank in next week’s top 50 prospects update and a few more who would land in the top 100.

Leading the pack is shortstop Javier Baez, who is arguably the most exciting offensive prospect in the game. Last season, the now-21-year-old posted a .920 OPS with 37 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 537 plate appearances between High-A Daytona and Double-A Tennessee.

In 2012, Boston’s dismal season and last-place finish in the American League East obscured the enormous progress made by their top prospects down on the farm.

Last season, though, everything clicked for the organization from top to bottom.

With the ability to follow beat writers and insider sources on Twitter, rumors have been swirling at faster rates than ever before. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the rumors are more real.

Teams have been busy over the past two months, putting their offseason plans in place and trying to fill as many holes as possible. For many of those teams, however, there are still needs to address, and time is running out before it's time to report to spring training. 

While it was a down year for San Francisco Giants pitchers, the same can’t be said for the organization’s promising young arms in the minor leagues.

With four World Series appearances in the last decade, the St. Louis Cardinals are baseball’s closest thing to a dynasty. 

However, rather than procuring talent during the offseason like most large-market franchises, the Cardinals continue to produce winning teams the old-fashioned way: by developing players.

That being said, a strong case can be made that the Cardinals would not have reached the postseason—let alone the World Series—if not for their impressive young arms.

As the 2014 year begins, we are just a couple months from the start of spring training. There is still a good deal to be done this offseason, but team rosters have already started to take shape for the upcoming season.

Every team enters the year with different expectations, looking to accomplish different things on an individual player and team level. Obviously, the ultimate goal for everyone is to win the World Series, but that is not necessarily the only goal—or even a realistic goal—for each team.

The lifestyle of an MLB player seems like a blast, right?

Yes, unless you're an impending free agent, highly touted young player, oft-injured veteran or something in between. Then there's pressure.

That's what all professional athletes sign up for. Along with copious amounts of money and fame, you're burdened with responsibilities to your teammates, fans and front-office executives.

The following 25 guys are either justifying an existing contract or proving themselves worthy of a new one while eyeing the 2014 World Series.