Fan News

The New York Yankees entered the 2014 spring training schedule with several important tasks.

First, they needed to introduce several new players to the Yankees culture.

Helping injured players return to form and shake off some rust would also be important.

But what is of the utmost importance is seeing which players can win the remaining position battles and which young players can earn a spot on the Opening Day roster while turning heads.

The exhibition season might only be two weeks old, but on-field performance and injuries have already provided a shakeup among fantasy rankings at multiple positions heading into the regular season.

Whether it's someone looking to rebound from a dismal 2013 season, a youngster trying to make his mark or a veteran that is a consistently underrated contributor, there's no shortage of players that have opened eyes—and raised their fantasy stock—so far this spring.

The start of the Major League Baseball season, more than any other sport, brings with it an air of optimism. With the season being 162 games, things can, and often do, go any number of directions. 

It doesn't matter if we are talking about a player or a team, there are going to be peaks and valleys for everyone. The trick is to minimize the damage so the peaks appear with greater frequency. 

The pessimism around the Philadelphia Phillies, particularly among the team's fans, has probably gone too far.

Sports talk radio in town cannot get anyone interested in talking about the Phillies because there just does not seem to be that much to talk about. The Phillies are an old team that got older in free agency.

On January 17, Blair Kerkhoff of The Kansas City Star reported that the Royals avoided arbitration with first baseman Eric Hosmer by agreeing with him on a one-year deal worth $3.6 million.  

With Derek Jeter's final Opening Day game—an April 1 matchup against the Houston Astros—quickly approaching, the New York Yankees captain is just four hits away from passing Hall of Famer Paul Molitor for

• Derek Jeter
• MLB
• Preview/Prediction
• Records & Milestones