Once the calendars flip to a new year, the following statement becomes true: It's never too early to start preparing for your fantasy baseball draft.

Consider this your go-to guide for the weeks ahead. We'll delve into the top players at every position and hit on a handful of prospects you'll want to know about—both to include in your Opening Day lineup and those you'll want to stash for use later in the season. For good measure, we'll toss in a handful of draft tips as well.

There's a light at the end of the tunnel, baseball fans.

Pitchers and catchers are set to begin reporting to spring training in less than a month, as we come down the homestretch of another long and eventful MLB offseason.

With that said, it's time for an updated look at how all 30 teams stack up around the league.

For the first time since the waning days of the George W. Bush administration, the San Francisco Giants didn't win the World Series in an even year.

Now, as we prepare to inaugurate President Donald J. Trump, San Francisco will look to usher in an era of odd-year dominance. 

First, they've got spring training issues to sort out, including position battles in left field, at third base and the back end of the rotation, where a former franchise cornerstone is trying to resuscitate his career.

The Los Angeles Dodgers need a second baseman. You know this. They know this. Your great-aunt Meredith who doesn't follow baseball knows this.

Yet as I type these words, Enrique Hernandez and his .190/.283/.324 2016 slash line sit atop L.A.'s second base depth chart. For a team with the game's gaudiest payroll and legitimate World Series aspirations, that's a bad look.

Veteran outfielder Josh Hamilton reached an agreement Tuesday to re-sign with the Texas Rangers. 

Former MLB star Alex Rodriguez is set to host a CNBC reality show, Back in the Game, according to Alex Weprin of Politico.

At some point, Brian Dozier's time with the Minnesota Twins figures to come to an end. The subject of trade rumors for much of the offseason, MLB's premier slugger at second base is one of the biggest names left twisting in the purgatory that is the trade block.

It's not so much that a player's current team doesn't want them any longer (though there are certainly times where that's the case), but rather said player, like Dozier, is more valuable to the team as a trade chip than a fixture on the 25-man roster.

When the Boston Red Sox report for spring training, they'll officially embark on a 2017 season that they hope will result in their fourth World Series title since 2004.

Oh, by the way, the magic date is February 13.

The Chicago Cubs will enter the 2017 season as marked men, looking to undertake the uphill battle that is repeating as World Series champions.

Just three times in the last 30 years has a team managed to win consecutive titles, as the New York Yankees won three in a row from 1998 to 2000 and the Toronto Blue Jays won it all in 1992 and 1993.

The Cubs have the talent to join that exclusive club.