Opinion

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.

Despite missing out on the postseason last October, the New York Yankees enter spring training as the biggest story in Major League Baseball.

How fitting that most Major League Baseball teams have opened or will open spring training on Valentine's Day, when we celebrate all that we love. 

Of course, there is no greater gift than the game of baseball, which is what makes this year's holiday better than ever. 

As of Friday, 20 teams have reported to camp. The Arizona Diamondbacks started first, with pitchers and catchers reporting on February 6, since their regular season will begin on March 22 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Australia. 

The New York Mets outfield situation is a wide open competition heading into their official spring training full-squad workouts on February 22. At this point, the one player that seems to have locked up an everyday role is Curtis Granderson. 

When you are a 21-year-old baseball player with 18 games of professional experience under your belt and a team trusts you to take over as the starting third baseman in the middle of the American League Championship Series, odds are good that you have special abilities. 

The Atlanta Braves have gotten extension-crazy all of a sudden, but that doesn't mean they're handing out crazy extensions. The first one they handed out this month was a good one, and now they've handed out another good one.

This second extension is going to young right-hander Julio Teheran, as the Braves gladly announced on Twitter:

It’s doubtful the St. Louis Cardinals would have finished with the best record in the National League and reached the World Series last season without the contributions from their rookie pitchers.

Using 12 different rookies during the regular season, the Cardinals’ collection of promising young arms posted a 36-22 record with a 3.17 ERA, 8.79 K/9 and 2.99 BB/9 in 553.2 innings.

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?

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.