Baseball

Entering their 10th anniversary season, the Washington Nationals have completed the transformation from perennial bottom-feeders to one of the most feared units in baseball, but before the team makes its supposed march to the World Series, it will convene in Viera, Florida, for spring training. 

After an exciting winter, the Seattle Mariners are nearly ready to begin the 2015 season.

Pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 20 to officially start spring training. Coming off of an encouraging 87-75 season and bolstered by some key offseason acquisitions, Seattle appears to be in its best shape to compete for the postseason in a number of years.

Questions remain as to when Miguel Cabrera will be ready for the 2015 MLB season after he had ankle surgery in October of last year.    

The bullpen was arguably the biggest driving force behind the Kansas City Royals' Cinderella run to the World Series last season. Because of that, the defending American League champions have locked up Kelvin Herrera.

Continue for updates.

Rickie Weeks had a rough 2014 season. With a slew of injuries slowing him down and his production declining over the past two years, Weeks found himself behind youngster Scooter Gennett on the depth chart. He'll have the opportunity to resurrect his career with the Seattle Mariners, however, after signing with the team. 

The Detroit Tigers have become a perennial powerhouse in the American League in the last few years, winning their division four years in a row and repeatedly making deep playoff runs.

They have done this thanks to a deep starting rotation and a powerful lineup.

First, Cubs fans had to wait for months for the team to sign ace Jon Lester. Now, it has seemed like an even more excruciating wait for spring training since there's so much excitement surrounding this much-improved team. 

Opening Day is just two months away, and, for the first time in five years, there is hope on the north side of Chicago. The front-office tandem of Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have stayed the course, and 2015 may be the first year the fruits of their labor are rewarded with 80-plus wins.

The Detroit Tigers appeared to have all of their major roster spots sewn up not so long ago. But things can change in a hurry.

The injury bug has bitten this franchise again, which will force some significant shake-ups in the weeks to come.

Spring training is a few weeks away, and it will be a time where top prospects can show their potential in front of fans, major league players and coaches.

Some prospects, of course, will be more developed than others, but the ones who are more developed will likely be aiming to make the Opening Day roster out of spring training.

I've cautioned in the past about the perils of overvaluing prospects. Because of that, there's a nasty misnomer out there that I'm anti-farm system.

On the contrary, I completely recognize the worth of having a young stable of up-and-comers. It's paramount to develop that talent for the future of any franchise. My quibble is that when you're a team with the payroll ceiling of the Boston Red Sox, you're not always nurturing the skills of those prospects for yourself.