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2013-06-26T21:17:26Z

Felix Hernandez, nicknamed King Felix, is one of the best pitchers in baseball today. The Mariners don’t have a lot of help behind him in their five-man MLB rotation right now, but help is on the way. Taijuan Walker is one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. He currently plays for the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. Walker is going to have a lot of hype when he debuts because of his amazing pitching arsenal. He features a fastball that sits in the 95 to 96 MPH range and shows incredible movement. Walker also fools hitters with a devastating curve ball that breaks hard toward the ground as it approaches the plate. If Walker ever throws a better change up, he may become one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Danny Hultzen isn’t quite the prospect that Walker is, but he’s another young arm to celebrate for the Mariners. Hultzen lacks the ace upside of Walker, but he can be a very nice starter right behind him at the number three spot in the rotation. Hultzen is a coveted left-handed pitcher who throws three average pitches, a fastball, a slider, and a changeup, with the fastball and slider having the ability to be plus pitches.

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2013-04-21T21:04:45Z

After winning two of the previous three World Series, the San Francisco Giants are a team built to last. Led by reigning National League Most Valuable Player Buster Posey, and a starting pitching rotation that has not one, but three legitimate number one pitchers going every five days with the likes of Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, and former 2-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum, the Giants are poised to have a Yankees-type dynasty that was seen back in the mid to late 1990s and early part of the 2000s.Check out this link here.

Manager Bruce Bochy and general manager Brian Sabean don’t rely on a lineup full of bombers, but rather players that play fundamental baseball better than any other team in the major leagues. Buster Posey, along with the Kung Fu Panda, Pablo Sandoval and young prospects Brandon Belt, and Brandon Crawford, lead a Giants team that has flown under the radar for the past several seasons. Sabean has the ability to tinker with the team and add a player that may not be the best available on the trade market, but fills the Giants needs perfectly, with outfielder Pat Burrell during the first title run, and Hunter Pence this past season.

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2013-04-21T21:04:39Z

After one season of controversy and poor play, the Boston Red Sox fired manager Bobby Valentine, and traded for Toronto Blue Jays manager John Farrell. Farrell, who had previously served under the beloved Terry Francona as his pitching coach, helped guide the Boston Red Sox to their most recent World Series championship in 2007.

Farrell brings to the table, several of the elements that made Francona so successful during his tenure in Boston. He treats players like men, rather than children under his watchful eye. Farrell’s experience as both a former major league pitcher and a well-respected pitching coach, has already had an impact on several key members of the Red Sox pitching staff.

One of those players is Clay Buchholz. The past couple of seasons have been forgettable for Buchholz, as he battled injuries and inconsistently, and wasn’t even assured a job with the big club heading into the 2013 season. Returning to the tutelage of Farrell, Buchholz and staff ace Jon Lester are fulfilling the promise thrust upon both of them prior to Valentine’s arrival. The impact of Farrell on Lester and Buchholz, have the Red Sox out in front of the AL East standings early in 2013.

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2013-04-21T21:04:36Z

Every dynasty of success comes to an end, and it’s no more apparent than with teams in sports. Free agency, age, and diminishing skills turn great teams into good teams, and good teams into also rans. This process is currently underway with the former Beast of the East, the Philadelphia Phillies.

Gone are many of the core contributors that helped the Phillies break through for their first World Series title since 1980 in 2008. Outfielders Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, and Raul Ibanez have all left for greener pastures, and injuries have debilitated former elite stars of the game such as second baseman Chase Utley and former National League Most Valuable Player Ryan Howard. Age is beginning to show with the dwindling numbers of leadoff stalwart Jimmy Rollins, and the dominant days of former Cy Young winner Roy Halladay may very well be gone forever.

Manager Charlie Manual is entering the final years of his managerial career, and he is doing his best with general manager Ruben Amaro to keep a competitive product on the field in the City of Brotherly Love. The Phils brought back Cliff Lee, who struggled mightily in 2012, and signed Cole Hamels to a long-term extension.

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2013-04-21T21:04:33Z

The Houston Astros as recently as 2005, were competing for a World Series with the likes of Lance Berkman, Craig Biggio, and Jeff Bagwell. Age, injuries, and ineffectiveness began took their toll on a franchise that was financially cash-strapped to keep their stars, as star players were dealt to contenders for prospects, while Bagwell and Biggio rode of into the sunset of retirement.

More recently, the Astros are considered the worst Major League Baseball team. With an entire team payroll of less than what Yankees’ third baseman Alex Rodriguez makes by himself, the Astros enter the 2013 season with young, unproven players, and having to transition from the National League Central to the highly competitive American League West.The whole story can be found at http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastros/2013/04/01/with-astros-eyeing-aaa-team-near-woodlands-crane-linked-to-new-orleans-club/

The Astros have compiled multiple prospects through trading established major league talent, and have added a multitude of young talent through top round draft picks in the MLB first year player draft. The Astros are preaching patience, and have turned a once-barren minor league farm system into one of the best overall farm systems top to bottom in all of baseball. While the Astros may not compete this year or next, the arrival of talent in the coming years will prove fruitful.

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2013-04-21T21:04:30Z

The New York Yankees are Major League Baseball’s oldest team by average age. Led by the likes of Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte, two of whom are out until the second half of the season. The Yankees opened the 2013 season with injuries to players including the aforementioned Jeter and Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, and Curtis Granderson. With the goal of cutting payroll prior to the 2014 season, the Yankees barely spent any money in free agency during this past off season. With the injuries and lack of suitable fill-ins, the Yankees will face an uphill battle all season long, as injuries, age, and the departure of several key components of recent year’s squads leaving them looking to receive production from unknown players, and players whose best days are far behind them. Starting pitching remains the Yankees’ strength, and with Rivera anchoring the back end of the bullpen, if the Yankees can remain competitive in a very good American League East, once their injured stars return, the Yankees could once again be the royalty of this division. The 2013 season could end a remarkable string of playoff appearances, Directv, having made it in 18 of the last 20.

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