Rankings/List

With the 2012 regular season in its final days, a number of teams across the league are working on positioning themselves for a postseason run, while others are already making plans for the offseason.

A number of free agents-to-be have performed well enough to warrant significant contracts on the free market, but only time will tell as to whether or not their teams will let them go.

Here are some players that could very well end up wearing the same uniform when spring training rolls around just five months from now.

Fans are always quick to deem a prospect a “bust” simply because he under-produced relative to expectations. Although the compulsion to scrutinize under such circumstances is understandable, stating that a specific player has bottomed-out based on a one-year sample isn’t exactly sound reasoning. 

Blockbuster deals are becoming more common, and a number of big-name players have changed teams. The Adrian Gonzalez trade is just one recent blockbluster.

There could be a lot more deals that happen this winter. Teams have players with big salaries that they want to get rid of or potential stars that are currently block. In this second instance, they can either trade the prospect or the player that is blocking them.

Has the race for the National League Rookie of the Year Award essentially been decided with two weeks remaining in the 2012 season? 

It's beginning to look that way, as Todd Frazier's September slide has created some distance between him and Wade Miley for front-runner status in our weekly rankings. What looked like a two-man competition might now be Miley's race to lose. 

There is certainly a tight race for the 2012 National League Rookie of the Year award. A number of outstanding performances have been put in by young stars and no one has really run away in the race.

Wade Miley has been outstanding for the Arizona Diamondbacks. It is certainly possible that he manages to win the award this season.

There are two hitters that will challenge each other and Miley for the award. Todd Frazier has put together a solid season and his numbers make him one of the favorites to win the National League Rookie of the Year award.

One of my favorite activities as both a scout and prospect analyst is identifying potential breakout candidates—both pitching and position prospects. Typically, the process involves combing the low minors for raw, high-upside talent, as statistics don’t always tell the whole story.

The Major League Baseball trade deadline has come and gone, and some big-name players will be wearing new uniforms for at least the rest of the season.

However, who was the most important player traded? Who will have the biggest impact on the tight playoff races that are already developing?

Those are both huge questions.

As part of the new collective bargaining agreement, the signing deadline was moved from August 15 to July 13, forcing teams to sign their draft picks at least a month earlier than previous years.

In 2011, 98 of the 331 players drafted within the first 10 rounds were still unsigned headed into deadline day (August 15). This year, as a result of the new, accelerated signing deadline, only 17 of the 338 players selected in rounds 1-10 remained unsigned headed into July 13.

The added wild card will make the playoff run even more chaotic in 2012, with 18 teams currently within five games of a playoff spot. As we move through August, the contenders will separate themselves from the pretenders, and the playoff picture will begin to shape up.

Here are three teams who will show their true colors and drop out of the playoff race early:

Arizona Diamondbacks

It was another pretty incredible night for premier pitchers in the American League.

In fact, it was a Justin-credible night for the Detroit Tigers.

Justin Verlander struck out 14 batters in a 132-pitch, eight inning effort against the New York Yankees on Monday night, while Jered Weaver notched his major league-best 15th win with a four-hit complete game masterpiece over the Oakland A's.