Fan News

It's no secret the Chicago Cubs are supposed to be much improved this season after a very busy offseason. It remains to be seen just how improved they are, but their roster from this year compared to last appears to be much stronger. 

Fans know names like Jon Lester, Miguel Montero and Dexter Fowler, but there are other players waiting for an opportunity to prove themselves. Some of these players will try to impress in spring training. Here are five who could surprise people this March.

The MLB season is right around the corner.

Most, if not all, of the questions we entered this offseason with have been answered. With James Shields signing with the San Diego Padres, all of the biggest free agents have now signed with new teams. Players have already started reporting to spring training and, with the first games just over two weeks away, most rosters are set.

However, the excitement of the rumor mill is far from over. 

Oakland Athletics' FanFest is in the books, which means the next big event is the beginning of spring training.

It's been a hectic offseason, so whether you've lived under a rock or paid full attention, you'll probably need a refresher course regardless.

The team made plenty of additions. That, of course, was to fill the myriad losses. Oakland made some coaching changes. The farm system has been shaken up. All in all, the A's have changed—big time.

Spring training is set to begin next week when pitchers and catchers report to camp, meaning Major League Baseball’s long and at times insane offseason is coming to an end.

The CEO of an adjoining Little League to beleaguered Jackie Robinson West has turned the tables to charge youth baseball’s governing body with erratic handling of the JRW controversy.

Ralph Peterson, who has run the Rosemoor Little League on Chicago’s South Side since 2012, said Little League International chief Stephen Keener needs to review the process of vetting players and league boundaries before he throws his version of the death penalty at programs like JRW.

The grass has been cut, the infield raked and the New York Yankees are just about ready to head south for what's left of a brutal, unforgiving winter. Spring training is nearly upon us, and a new era will officially begin on Feb. 20, when pitchers and catchers report for work at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Welcome to Yankees baseball A.D.—After Derek.

On February 19, the Chicago White Sox will officially begin preparations for the 2015 campaign with the start of spring training. It marks the beginning of what the fanbase hopes will be a season that ends with an American League Central title.

Unlike seasons past, however, there is legitimate optimism surrounding the White Sox. General manager Rick Hahn made an extraordinary amount of progress this offseason, acquiring multiple players to fill just about every hole on the roster.

What makes an MLB team exciting to watch?

Winning is certainly nice, as well as the ultimate goal every time a team takes the field, but that's not necessarily what we'll be focusing on here.

In my mind, the following five categories are what put fans in the stands and give them a reason to cheer, and they are what will be focused on in the following article:

The Detroit Tigers are once again favorites to triumph in the American League Central this season.

However, the four-time reigning division champions are no certainty to prevail in arguably baseball’s tightest division.

The offseason has been a blur, one blockbuster move after another changing the landscape as we knew it just hours before.

Brash and fearless front offices shuttling out superstars, bringing in others and changing the complexion of divisions has been the norm since before Thanksgiving. In what has become one of the most active and maybe surprising fall-winter seasons in recent memory, the balance of power has shifted in every division in both leagues over the course of three-and-a-half months.