Rankings/List

The Cubs sent eight prospects to the Arizona Fall League's Mesa Solar Sox. The AFL is one of the most exciting times of the year for teams and scouts as the league's best prospects converge on Arizona.

Most teams send a few guys who are household names, at least to the more astute fan. It's the names you don't know that you want to look into as they are the guys right around the corner, having been awarded for making significant strides or given the stint because they were injured and need the work.

Back in August, I wrote about how a healthy Matt Kemp would be the final piece to the Dodgers' World Series run. And when he finally returned in mid-September with 11 hits in his first 28 at-bats, including three doubles and a homer, that final piece to an already strong team appeared to have arrived. 

2013 must be an unlucky number. At least, the Cubs would say so.

2013 was a season of struggle for the Cubs, who finished in last place in the National League Central Division. With an abysmal record of 66-96, the Cubs were anything but entertaining.

Needless to say, the end of the baseball season wasn't exactly a tragedy for fans of Chicago baseball. Neither Chicago team was a privilege to watch; the Chicago White Sox finished the season at 63-99.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves are now tied at a game apiece for the National League Division Series title. Matt Kemp watched both games from the bench and will likely do the same for the entirety of the Dodgers' 2013 playoff run.

How a player performs when the games matter most could have an affect on his overall value, which is of greater importance to those who are eligible for free agency at season's end. 

While a majority of these players will not stand out in a good or bad way, there are a handful of them who will. As a result, the price tag could rise or fall, at least slightly. A pair of 2012 postseason stars, Marco Scutaro and Anibal Sanchez, each cashed in after boosting their value greatly with strong playoff performances. 

The Tampa Bay Rays have a tough road ahead.

After 162 games, the Rays finished the season tied with the Texas Rangers for the second Wild Card spot in the American League. A tiebreaker Game 163 was required to answer the question of whether the Rays would even make the postseason in 2013.

Monday night the Rays answered the question by defeating the Rangers 5-2.

The road will only get tougher for the team that has not been home since September 23.

A 7-0 rout of the Chicago Cubs on Friday night assured the St. Louis Cardinals of an NL Central title, their first since 2009.

Despite dominating for most of the regular season, they face a whole new set of challenges in their pursuit of the 2013 World Series Championship.

Here are three reasons why St. Louis may succumb to an early playoff exit.

Friday night's scolding of the Colorado Rockies marked the end of Clayton Kershaw's 2013 regular season. The southpaw has now completed six sensational years at the major league level, and over the past half-century, few other pitchers have realized comparable success at such a young age.

This one photograph simultaneously captures one of the highest and lowest points of the 2013 MLB regular season.

On the right, you have Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera was putting together perhaps the greatest individual season in baseball history until hip and abdomen problems derailed his quest for greatness in late August. Despite a poor batting average and lack of power for the entire month of September, Cabrera is still one of the favorites to win the AL MVP.

Like the Red Sox, whose offseason free agent targets I previewed yesterday, the Braves are one of the best teams in baseball without too many weaknesses on their current roster. The difference is that the Sox have several key players headed for free agency while the Braves have just one—catcher Brian McCann. And they could choose to replace him internally.