Oakland Athletics first baseman Brandon Moss is literally the big elephant in the room.

In his breakthrough season in 2013, Moss ranked among Major League Baseball's best in every power category there is, forcing us to query as to whether or not he is a one-year wonder. If he does show us a significant decline in statistical production in 2014, it will be one of the greatest year-to-year wanes we have seen for some time.

At long last, MLB spring training has taken hold in Arizona and Florida.

As position players trickle in early to join the pitchers and catchers, full-squad workouts are just around the corner. Looking ahead to 2014, we have a good idea of who will be contending for playoff spots come September.

Every spring training defined storylines are set. However, as it progresses, some unexpected developments take place and change everything fans had assumed. Breakout stars emerge and other “sure things” disappoint.

Pitchers and catchers are reporting to spring training, and I am happy to see baseball finally starting to get underway again. As the players are getting ready to start the campaign, some of them seem to be in great shape already. For some, they seem to have made major physical changes over the winter. For others, perhaps they are coming off of an excellent performance in winter baseball, and they are looking forward to a huge season potential.

Either way, they are in some type of great shape, and I want to give you five examples of this.

Alex Cobb just put himself atop the early list for the best marriage proposal of 2014.

The Tampa Bay Rays pitcher got help from a dolphin at Discovery Cove in Orlando, Fla., in pulling off a spectacular proposal. When the dolphin surfaced to meet Cobb's girlfriend, Kelly, it held a buoy in its mouth which read "Kelly, will you marry me?"

Not a chance she could turn that down.

Even though that was a well-planned proposal, Cobb still did it the old-fashioned way of getting down on one knee afterward.

Being a prospect in Major League Baseball requires a degree of patience that few people in the world can match. These are players who, for the most part, have been signed or drafted to multi-million dollar contracts when they are between the ages of 18 and 21. 

One common term you will hear, especially during the spring when some stats can get inflated by small sample sizes and inconsistent competition is "MLB ready." Is this guy ready to step into the big leagues today and play a significant role for their team?

Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan has been off the mound for over two decades, but he can't seem to stay away from the game of baseball.   

The 67-year-old will now reunite with the Houston Astros in an advisory role, as first reported by Brian McTaggart of MLB.com:

Two of the three divisions in the American League housed at least three winning teams in 2013. The AL West was the one that didn't, and also had the dishonor of being home to MLB's worst team.

But since spring training is pretty much here, it's really no longer too early to look at the projections. And to this end, the AL West is looking pretty good for 2014. Quite good, in fact. Shoot, very good.

Spring training is just a couple of weeks away, and the Texas Rangers have two guys who are creating a lot of buzz.

Ironically, one player just won a Super Bowl, and the other pitched against the club last year.

The Seattle Mariners finally continued their spending ways after agreeing to a two-year, $14 million deal with reliever Fernando Rodney, as reported by Grantland’s Jonah Keri. Keri also notes that the deal could be worth up to $15 million with incentives: