This guy is so fun to watch. So fun to the point where I don’t mind taking 20 minutes to watch highlight reels of him. With Jim Edmonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Torii Hunter, Ozzie Smith, etc being the perennial highlight reel players in the past, it’s now Andrelton’s turn.

2014 highlights
2013 highlights

Personally I was hoping that the Yankees would find a way to get him to be Jeter’s replacement. Once again, I love this guy.

Yadier Molina is a leader. The Cardinals have been good for a really long time now. Really it’s impressive what their resume is for the past 10 or so years: 2004 NL Champions, 2005 Division Series Champions, 2006 World Champions…fast forward to 2011 World Champions, 2012 Division Series Champions, 2013 NL Champions, 2014 Division Series Champions. They’ve been so consistently great, it’s historically good. The one guy who has been there for all of it is Yadier Molina.

Molina has always been elite defensively. In 2011-2014 he became an elite, maybe even top 5 player in baseball. He added a .300 average and double digit homers in three of those seasons. If he can keep that up, he should be in the Hall of Fame.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSjYc280vaU

With the Marlins on the hopes of a playoff spot, now is the time for Stanton to excel than any other. If the Marlins made the playoffs and Stanton has identical numbers from 2014, I would think he’d win MVP. Stanton seemingly gets better every year, whether it be in plate discipline or defense; this year I want to see at least some increase in homers. It just doesn’t seem right that the guy who has been viewed as the perennial power hitter in the game for a couple years now hasn’t hit 40 yet.

Hopefully his season-ending hit-by-pitch doesn’t mess him up. Yikes.

You know how I feel about him, read above.

Billy Hamilton is one of my favorite players in baseball. Defense and speed is about it for him as far as talents go but he makes the most of them. He had a great rookie year but he can get so much better. Stealing 56 bases was cool, but 23 caught stealings isn’t. A .292 OBP is sub-par for a leadoff hitter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8ZkoyO3bnc

I love Billy and I really think he can build off of his rookie year. 50 stolen bases and a Gold Glove seem cool, but I’m really going to keep an eye on his OBP and stealing percentage. Keep in mind Billy that walks were what transformed Rickey Henderson from an amazingly fast guy to a legend.

I’m not too knowledgeble of what prospects are expected to be called up this season or are already expected to be starters, so I’m not doing a rookie section. However, I do know for sure Jorge Soler will be a starter and that he’s a Rookie of the Year candidate.

In a small sample size, he hit .292 with 5 homers, which is pretty good for 24 games. I really don’t know too much about him but he passes the eye test for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wheRqzyHP4

Prince has always been one of my favorite players. For a while, he was my favorite player, especially in the 2009 era when he won the Home Run Derby and was on the cover of Bigs 2. Big swings and big home runs I always liked—but there’s so much more to him.

In a five year stretch, four years he played all 162 and the other was 161. So there’s one unappreciated talent. The other is plate discipline. For a guy who swings so heavy, he doesn’t strike out all that much.

People act like his years in Detroit were lost seasons for him. I think that’s absolutely stupid. Sure 2013 wasn’t so great, but in 2012 he played like a $23,000,000 player: 30 homers, 85 walks compared to 84 strikeouts, .313 average, and .412 OBP. Miguel Cabrera wouldn’t have won the Triple Crown without Prince.

After his neck surgery ordeal, Prince should be playing like his 2012 self again. I think he can definitely get 30 homers. I’m rooting for you, Prince.

Javier Baez was so polarizing of a player, it was ridiculous. He played a very short season, but his stats adjusted for 162 games is this: 28 homers, good. A .227 OBP and almost 300 strike outs…bad. Historically bad.

I have my eye on him because I want to see a lot of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V58mBmwRThU

If I would have seen this video and not known the ugly stats of his, I would think he’d been the biggest power hitting the game. Be the entertainer you can be Baez.

Their playoff droughts aren’t as bad as others, but it’s been a while since they’ve been good. They’re expected to be great with improvements of Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, and Wil Myers. Personally I don’t think it’s enough but I have my eye on them. Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross both had ERAs in the 2.00 last year.