2011 MLB Spring Training

Last Year: 81-81, Third in AL Central 

Manager: Jim Leyland 

PROJECTED LINEUP 

C- Alex Avila (L)

1B- Miguel Cabrera (R)

2B- Will Rhymes (L)

3B- Brandon Inge (R)

SS- Jhonny Peralta (R)

LF- Ryan Rayburn (R)

CF- Austin Jackson (R)

RF- Magglio Ordonez (R)

DH- Victor Martinez (S)

2B- Carlos Guillen (S) (start season on DL)

It's hard to believe, but the regular season is less than a week away. Teams in both the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues are preparing to pack up and head home for a long season.

While the mainstays of each team's roster spend the spring honing their skills and preparing for the season, many rookies look at camp as their opportunity to prove that they belong at the Major League level.

I'm writing this article as a follow-up to MLB Prospects: Kansas City Royals' Tim Collins Pitching Taller Than He Really Is.

5' 7", 175-pound Tim Collins wasn't on the 40-man roster when camp opened up for the Kansas City Royals on February 14, in Surprise, AZ. In fact, Collins wasn't even drafted.

He will, however, be on the team's opening day roster as Kansas City hosts the the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

When Los Angeles Angels' manager Mike Scioscia announced last Thursday that starting pitcher Scott Kazmir would open the season as a member of the starting rotation, he was asked by reporters whether or not Kazmir had earned the spot.

“Earned?” Scioscia said. “Define ‘earned.’”

Not exactly a stirring vote of confidence.

However, Kazmir, who struggled last season with a 9-15 record and a 5.94 ERA, is owed $14.5 million this season.

Last Year

85-77, 4th in AL East 

Manager: John Farrell 

PROJECTED LINEUP

C - JP Arencibia (R)

1B - Adam Lind (L)

2B - Aaron Hill (R)

3B - Jose Bautista (R)

SS - Yunel Escobar (R)

LF - Travis Snider (L)

CF - Rajai Davis (R)

RF - Juan Rivera (R)

DH - Edwin Encarnacion (R)

I had the good fortune of connecting with the Milwaukee Brewers 2009 Minor League Player of the Year, Logan Schafer, and asked if he would have time for a quick interview. He didn't at the time but we agreed to connect somewhere around the beginning to middle of spring training.

We had originally thought that we could do a phone interview but that had been discussed just prior to Schafer's thumb injury which he suffered during a spring training game.

Fate can have a way from helping you win it all by snagging the best player ever, and it can totally screw you by giving you the last pick. No matter if you are a smart enough baseball fan, or the kind of fan who only knows the players on his favorite team, with the proper guidance from Bleacher Report and MLB Featured Columnist Tony Capobianco, then you too can win with a low pick.

Why the ninth pick? Because that's the pick I got in my draft.

COLORADO ROCKIES

Last Year: 83-79, 3rd in NL West

Manager: Jim Tracy

PROJECTED LINEUP

C—Chris Iannetta (R)

1B—Todd Helton (L)

2B—Jose Lopez (R) 

3B—Ian Stewart (L)

SS—Troy Tulowtizki (L)

LF—Carlos Gonzalez (L)

CF—Dexter Fowler (S)

RF—Seth Smith (L)

SEATTLE MARINERS

Last Year: 61-101, fourth in AL West  

Manager: Eric Wedge

PROJECTED LINEUP 

C- Miguel Olivio (R) 

1B- Justin Smoak (S)

2B- Brendan Ryan (R) or Adam Kennedy (L)

3B- Chone Figgins (S) 

SS- Jack Wilson (R)

LF- Milton Bradley (S)

CF- Franklin Gutierrez (R)

RF- Ichiro Suzuki (L)

DH- Jack Cust (L)

Joe Saunders, the man who wept when he was traded to the Diamondbacks, has made fans weep this entire spring, and last night was the biggest cry-fest of all.  In a game that Saunders needed to pitch well he fell flat. 

After being inconspicuously omitted when Kirk Gibson was naming the starters earlier in the week the pressure was on Saunders to have a quality outing and show that he deserves to be one of the five.