Baseball

The New York Yankees are just a week into spring games, but several players have already started to create some buzz in camp.

The "buzz" we'll look at here is good buzz, of course. No A-Rod bashing, no harping on health issues, just standout performances that are starting to gain some extra notoriety.

Though there are a number of very deserving candidates, I narrowed this list down to six players who have all put up exemplary performances down in the Grapefruit League. 

Houston Astros outfielder George Springer made his anticipated big league debut on April 17 last year. Springer, Houston's first-round pick (11th overall) in 2011, was thrown into the fire immediately and struggled a bit from the start.

Houston Astros star prospect Mark Appel is battling for a spot on the team's 25-man roster and stated he is now able to pitch after deailing with an injury during spring training.

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Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Pedro Alvarez has been diagnosed with a mild hyperextension of his right elbow. He will be re-evaluated after missing the next "few" games. 

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FORT MYERS, Fla. — Immediately, you recognize the infectious smile from a mile away. Pure Panda. So is the laughter and the joy.

And inside the Boston Red Sox clubhouse, nothing about Panda says San Francisco anymore.

Leaving the Giants?

This news rarely turns in the other direction. 

The Texas Rangers might not know for sure yet, as Yu Darvish discussed (via Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News), but the sprain in his ulnar collateral ligament is likely to lead to Tommy John surgery. He will be done for this season.

Spring training is the best time of the year when it comes to baseball. All of the teams are an equal distance from getting to the promised land of a World Series—except the Philadelphia Phillies; they’re just terrible—and fans have a chance to watch their favorite teams play without the pressure of actual wins and losses.

The Chicago Cubs are going to pay for the funeral of legendary infielder Ernie Banks after the company that handled the services filed a claim that it hadn't been paid amid a legal battle over the Hall of Famer's estate.

New addition Yunel Escobar is slated to be the Washington Nationals' starting second baseman in 2015, but the ninth-year veteran has gotten off to a less-than-ideal start with the Nats due to injury.

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Second baseman Omar Infante was a key figure in the Kansas City Royals' surprising run to the World Series last year, but the veteran middle infielder is ailing leading up to the start of the 2015 regular season.

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