Rankings/List

The Rangers have the right guy at the right time to lead this team into bigger and better things.

With Nolan Ryan finally getting to be the captain of the Rangers' ship, after a mutiny of former owner Tom Hicks, they can step into a future that is bright and full of contending years. Something this city hasn't seen in quite some time.

They have youth, along with veteran experience, just about everywhere you look.

They have pitching, they have hitting, but the one thing the Rangers have is the ability to hold on to a lead when they have one.

Don’t pay for saves.

Now that I got that out of the way, we can turn our attention to the relievers.

Amazingly, there are a lot of relatively stable bullpen situations across the league. Houston and Pittsburgh are the only teams that don’t have a clear-cut closer, although there are other teams with guys on shorter leashes and a few teams with setup men waiting in the wings.

Spring Training is upon us, meaning another MLB season is on it's way. Every season a new crop of stars comes around and alters the balance of the league.

There are no sure things when dealing with prospects. Some "can't miss" blue-chippers never amount to anything (see: Brien Taylor). Other Players come out of nowhere and become Hall of Famers (see: Albert Pujols).

Last year we saw a wealth of NL rookies make an immediate impact on their respective teams.

Tommy Hanson got the call in June and pitched "lights out" baseball from then on.

What would it take to pry Albert Pujols away from the St. Louis Cardinals?

Cardinals fans, put away your pitchforks and disband the angry mob. I am not in any way suggesting that Pujols, could, would, or should be traded. Such a deal would be monumentally stupid for St. Louis; in addition to being the team's best player since Stan Musial, Pujols is a fan favorite and a hometown hero.

But if the circumstances suddenly shifted? What if Pujols went on a Milton Bradley-esque rant about his hatred for the city of St.

When you look at potentially filling your fantasy rotation out in the late rounds on draft day, WHIP is one of the categories you have to keep in mind. While strikeout potential is great, if the pitcher is capable of walking the ballpark and posting a WHIP of 1.35 or worse, he potentially will do more harm then good.

With that in mind, let’s look at five pitchers with the potential to contribute in WHIP and who are generally available after Round 18:

Mark Buehrle—Chicago White Sox

The Braves have always been known for their top notch pitching. John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Warren Spahn, Johnny Sain, and Phil Niekro are a few notable stars that have pitched for the Braves franchise, and they definitely pitched well in that Braves uniform.

Like Rome, a good baseball team can't be built in a day, but -- with the right trade -- the process can be reduced significantly with the right trade.

Let's not kid ourselves: we know what the best trade in Houston Astros history is. Despite that, there are four other deals that helped shape the franchise which deserve our consideration.

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The NL East has plenty of offensive firepower, especially at the top, but the emergence of young pitching and the performance of the divisions aces will go a long way to deciding if anyone can knock the Phillies off their perch.

The Phillies picked up a new ace; the Braves lost theirs. The Mets will ride the arm of their ace while the Marlins attempt to establish a new one. As for the Nationals? They will likely have have their future ace start in the minors while the big league club attempts to take baby steps and improve upon a dismal 2009 season.

Every winning baseball team has a player or two that goes relatively unnoticed, their contributions undervalued by the bigger names on the team. Sometimes they are bunt specialists, defensive wizards, or pinch hitting specialists.

But, to the true baseball eye there are many underrated players in the MLB today putting up quite remarkable numbers in equally remarkable ways.