30 - Houston Astros
At some point, the forever-sinking ship that is the Houston Astros will rise once again and flourish like it did during the 90's. With prospects like Carlos Correa, Jon Singleton, George Springer, and Mark Appel the future looks incredibly bright. Unfortunately, even with a few of those players set to debut this season, the rest of the Astros roster is pretty bleak. In an incredibly tough division (that got a lot tougher this off-season), Houston fans are looking at another disappointing season.
29 - Chicago Cubs
Top-to-bottom, the Cubbies look horrible for 2014. After losing 96 games, Theo Epstein's Cubs had a very quiet off-season. Coming off the disappointing 2013 campaign of the highly touted Starlin Castro, the Cubs still look disastrously. The trade rumors never seem to end with Cubs' ace Jeff Samardzija and it would hardly be a shocker if the 29-year old is dealt this season. At least the Cubs have hot prospect Javier Baez to look forward to. Baez swatted 37 homers with 111 RBI and 20 stolen bases in the minors last year. Baez could make his long-awaited debut this season.
28 - Miami Marlins
The Marlins had a busy off-season in which they acquired Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Rafael Furcal, Casey McGehee, and Garrett Jones. While that seems like a substantial upgrade from last season's offense, it still isn't enough and Giancarlo Stanton will still have to carry the majority of the load when he's in the lineup. Marlins fans get to at least see the first full season of Christian Yelich as well as a most-likely dominating sophomore season from 2013 National League Rookie of the Year Jose Fernandez.
27 - Minnesota Twins
There is really no other way to put it - the Twins are bad. With Mauer at first base, he should be able to play more games and perhaps perform at a higher level at the plate. While that's great, the Twins will really miss his leadership and defense at the catcher position. Arcia and Willingham will provide some pop, and Perkins is a top-notch closer, but the mediocre additions of the overpaid Ricky Nolasco and the always-disappointing Phil Hughes were not enough. The Twins may have escaped the basement of the Central Division last season, but they won't in 2014. With top prospect Miguel Sano going down for Tommy John surgery, everything is sad in Minnesota.
26 - Philadelphia Phillies
This ranking may be a bit unfair for a team whose pitching staff contains Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, and AJ Burnett. At the same time, the hitting combination of Rollins-Utley-Howard is not even a shell of itself any more and while Domonic Brown looked like he may have finally broken-out, his second half to 2013 was injury-riddled and he only cracked 4 homeruns. There's simply not enough hitting in Philly.
25 - New York Mets
There's no way around it - Matt Harvey's Tommy John surgery is devastating for the Mets, their fans, and anyone who owns him in a keeper league. At the same time, the never-aging Bartolo Colon had an amazing 2013, finishing 6th in American League Cy Young voting. He is certainly a welcomed addition to the Mets staff as he tries to fill the ace-void Harvey left. While I am a fan of Zack Wheeler and Jenrry Mejia, the pitching staff still leaves a lot to be desired. There are question marks surrounding the age and health of newly acquired Curtis Granderson and how his power will translate to a less-hitter-friendly park than Yankee Stadium. Overall, this team is a few pieces away in all aspects of the game from being a true contender.
24 - Colorado Rockies
The Rockies have plenty of offense... when that offense is actually healthy. Carlos Gonzalez hasn't played at least 150 games in any season of his career and he hasn't played at least 140 since 2010. Tulowitzki hasn't played at least 140 since 2011. As of now, though, the Rockies bats are healthy and added Justin Morneau and speedster Drew Stubbs to an already nice lineup. The issue, however, is the pitching. Even with the addition of Brett Anderson, the Rockies pitching staff is one of the worst in baseball. Also, what is manager Walt Weiss thinking considering LaTroy Hawkins for the closer job over Rex Brothers? Mercy...
23 - San Diego Padres
It will be interesting to see how Josh Johnson bounces back as he moves back to the NL and into a pitcher-friendly ballpark. Cashner, Gyorko, and Venable had very nice 2013 seasons and the addition of Joaquin Benoit should greatly help out the bullpen. If Headley and Quentin can stay healthy, and Everth Cabrera avoid another suspension, the Padres could possibly make some noise. Given their overall talent-level, though, I would not expect much. Especially in a division with the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Giants.
22 - Chicago White Sox
This ranking is very generous for the White Sox but over the course of the last year they have gotten a lot younger and should be more exciting. The Garcia-Peavy-Iglesias deal that landed the White Sox Avisail Garcia should pay off greatly for the Sox. Adam Eaton is a superb addition who has 20homer/20steal potential. The key to the White Sox's success, however, will be Jose Abreu. The 27-year old Cuban native won MVP honors in Cuba in 2011 and has all the tools of a great hitter. The pitching staff is questionable, and losing Addison Reed after a 40 save season is going to sting, but the White Sox have improved.
21 -Milwaukee Brewers
Ryan Braun's return will be excellent for a lineup already sporting Aramis Ramirez, Jean Segura, Carlos Gomez, and Jonathan Lucroy. Unfortunately, the Brew Crew's pitching staff is atrocious and their division has three juggernauts in it. The addition of Matt Garza should help, and Yovani Gallardo's ERA should be closer to his career average of 3.72 than his above 4.00 ERA he posted last season, but the pitching still needs major improvements if the Brewers want to be playing in October.
20 - Toronto Blue Jays
Everything went wrong for the Blue Jays last season. Josh Johnson and RA Dickey were pretty terrible, Jose Bautista and Jose Reyes were injury-ridden, and the Red Sox and Rays had great seasons. Unfortunately even if they stay healthy this season, just like the Brewers, the Blue Jays have great hitting but not enough pitching. Also similar to the Brewers, the Blue Jays are in a loaded division.
19 - Seattle Mariners
The incredibly expensive acquisition of Robinson Cano is definitely great for now, but that does not make the Mariners a great team. If Cano's wishes are granted, and Seattle signs Ervin Santana and Kendrys Morales, then they would certainly move up a bit in these rankings. With those signings being highly unlikely, however, Seattle needs a lot more than Cano, Corey Hart, and Fernando Rodney to forget their 71-91 2013 record. While a full season of Mike Zunino and the arrival of Taijuan Walker should help, things are already off to a bad start with Hisashi Iwakuma set to start the year on the disabled list.
18 - San Francisco Giants
Buster Posey's Giants had a disappointing 2013 after winning the World Series in 2012. Fortunately, it looks as though third basemen Pablo Sandoval has lost a lot of weight and the team's expectations for him are high. The roster consists of two aces, a great closer, and arguably the best catcher in baseball. The Michael Morse and Tim Hudson acquisitions were low-risk, high-reward and the Giants could very easily return to relevance in 2014.
17 - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Angels' ceiling is as high as any team's. I'm tempering my expectations only because of the very disappointing 2013 campaign. As of now, however, Albert Pujols is healthy and Mike Trout is still the best player in baseball. There should be plenty of offense in Anaheim, even without Trumbo. Assuming Jered Weaver will be able to stay healthy this year, the real question marks fall on Hector Santiago and Tyler Skaggs. If those two young arms live up to their potential, the Angels should be great. If not, they'll be in dire need of some starting pitching.
16 -Cleveland Indians
Despite the nightmarish season Nick Swisher had in his first year as an Indian, the Tribe were still able to surprise most and reach the postseason thanks to stellar play from their All Star second basemen Jason Kipnis. I'm a believer in Kipnis, but not so much the rest of the team. At least, for now, the closer position received a much-needed upgrade and Michael Bourn is temporarily healthy. Regardless, I don't think John Axford and David Murphy will be enough to get Cleveland in the postseason again.
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