Rankings/List

As the second month of the 2014 MLB season gets underway, the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox are a .500 ball club.  While there is still a lot of baseball remaining, Boston has already played roughly 20 percent of the games on its schedule.  That's enough of a sample size to begin to make some conclusions about this year's edition of the Red Sox.

As it stands, the Philadelphia Phillies are in a bit of a funk. After finding a way back to a game above .500 at 15-14, they lost four straight games to the Toronto Blue Jays—two at home, two on the road—to fall to 15-18. For the record, that places them dead last in the NL East.

What follows is my take on the 25 most important players for the 2014 MLB season. Each of these guys made my list for a different reason, and there's no doubt that your list of 25 likely differs greatly from mine, but I've attempted to explain my reason for each choice as best I can.

A player could earn the distinction of being one of the 25 most important players in 2014 for one of the following reasons:

The Reds took a bite out of a 7.5-game deficit by taking three of four from the first-place Brewers. Last week, we witnessed a healthy shot of offense while getting the same consistent pitching we've come to expect from this team. Here are the top 10 Reds from last week:

1. Johnny Cueto (last week No.1)

The Atlanta Braves encountered ups and downs over the first month of the season and have now seen their division lead disappear in the National League East.

The Braves didn't finish the month how they'd hoped, as they were swept by both the Miami Marlins and San Francisco Giants.

The current seven-game losing streak is the longest slide for the team since an eight-game skid in 2012.

Many of the Texas Rangers’ Top 10 Prospects continue to shine with their respective minor league affiliations now that the season has hit May.

MLB prospects endure the excruciating bus rides for just one reason. 

From big-money first-rounders to organizational soldiers, every player is trying to make it to the major leagues. What follows is a rundown of 10 MLB prospects, who are looking to make a big leap forward this season. 

Some of these standouts are on the verge of breaking into the big leagues. Others are simply trying to make the notoriously difficult jump to Double-A. So, let's take a look at 10 MLB prospects looking to climb the ladder in 2014.

The Oakland A’s deserve some much-needed home cooking, particularly after the grueling three-game series against the Boston Red Sox over the weekend. All three games were intense, as the A’s were strongly tested by the World Series champions.

The good news for the Chicago Cubs is that most of their top prospects have been true to form to start this season with very few hiccups in the first month. The bad news, which is normally inevitable in baseball, is that some have still gotten off to some disappointing starts. As an organization, the Cubs' top 20 prospects have performed well, but three out of their top 15 have been particularly disappointing thus far.

If the standings are all that matter than the New York Yankees couldn't be happier with their April performance.

The team wrapped up the month with a 15-11 record, and they're sitting in first place in the American League East.

However, April is just the first of a six-month journey through the regular season and isn't necessarily an accurate gauge of the season to come.

With that in mind, the first month of the season can still create handfuls of notable stories.