Spring training is getting closer. Top players have switched teams and fans patiently wait for America's favorite past time to get started. 

There's a lot of buzz going on right now as some recent deals have occurred. Clubs are signing key players and some are losing them.

Let's take a look in to how these deals affect certain teams. As well as the latest rumors in the Major League Baseball world.

Begin Slideshow

In baseball the key to winning is said to be about pitching and defense.

Under manager Ron Gardenhire the Minnesota Twins have built a reputation as a solid baseball club that pitches to contact, does not walk batters and plays fundamentally sound defense. 

This is a formula that the Twins have used to win six of the last nine AL Central Division titles.

The Kansas City Royals made some surprising news earlier today as they announced the signing of free agent and former Colorado Rockies pitcher Jeff Francis.

On one side, the move makes sense because KC needs immediate help in their starting rotation, after losing former Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke via trade and not resigning veteran Brian Bannister for next season.

It’s easy to forget the immediate impact Carlos Santana had after being called up by the Cleveland Indians in mid-June. Before Santana’s season was cut short on August 2^nd by a knee injury, he managed to compile a .260 batting average with 23 R, 6 HR, 22 RBIs and 3 SB.

The New York Yankees, asleep for much of baseball's offseason, have finally made a big move, signing closer Rafael Soriano to a three-year, $35 million deal. Soriano, 31, will serve as the setup man to current Yankee closer Mariano Rivera, and could also replace Rivera should he retire at the end of his current two-year contract.

Some people have a hard time letting go.

Brett Favre with retirement, Guns N' Roses fans with Chinese Democracy and now fantasy owners with Ichiro Suzuki.

I think we can all agree on one, simple thing: The National League is infinitely superior to its American League counterpart.

The Senior Circuit is real baseball as compared to the Junior Circuit's designated hitter-tainted novelty act.

before gaining entry to Baseball's Hall of Fame, a player must wait five years after his retirement to become eligible, then be name don 75 percent or more of the total ballots cast by members of the Base Ball Writers' Association of America. Former pitcher Bert Blyleven did not achieve entry until his fourteenth try, and he is not alone in the annals of Cooperstown when it comes to having a long time to wait.

Here’s an early look at the 2011 First Base rankings.


1.  Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals:  Turned in another fabulous season, hitting .312 with 115 runs, 183 hits, 42 HRs, 118 RBI, 14 SBs, 103 walks and a 1.011 OPS. He truly is a machine and should be the No. 1 player taken in fantasy drafts.

The hot stove is starting to cool as we ready for spring training. I know we are still six weeks away, but I can dream. So let’s stoke that fire a bit with more prospect talk. This series on prospects will cover a wide range of players as well as positions. We’ll cover sleepers as well as some of the more obvious stars of the future.