Detroit Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias could miss "half the year or more," reports Jon Heyman of

The Chicago Cubs' future is bright, but spring training has produced mixed results in 2014. They have seen performances they didn't expect on opposite ends of the spectrum. Some players have been better than expected, while others have flopped and lowered expectations. 

With spring training about halfway over (yay!) and your fantasy baseball draft getting ever closer if you haven't had it yet (double-yay!), it's time to update the Big Board again.

The future of baseball has been on display this spring, with countless top-ranked prospects opening eyes with their performances on a daily basis.

However, with the start of the regular season around the corner, teams have started to trim their rosters by optioning prospects to a specific level or reassigning them to minor league spring training. This past week, Byron Buxton, Oscar Taveras and Francisco Lindor were the biggest names among prospects to be cut from big league camp.

Before we go any further, let me state for the record, on March 8, that I am not declaring that I think the New York Yankees will be world champions in 2014. Not yet, anyway. But it's never too early to start examining the possibilities.

The Miami Marlins and Boston Red Sox have been getting into it recently during spring training. Now, Red Sox owner John Henry has joined in.

The phrase "age before beauty" can be applied to the decision that the Philadelphia Phillies will have to make on veteran outfielder Bobby Abreu. The former All-Star has an opt-out clause in his minor league contract that allows Abreu to be granted his release if he is not placed on the Phillies' MLB roster by March 26.

The Toronto Blue Jays made the biggest trade of the winter last season, acquiring Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle in a mega-deal with the Miami Marlins.

The decision by the St. Louis Cardinals front office to grant an extension to Matt Carpenter was the next step by John Mozeliak to solidify the team’s core for the next few years.

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.