![]() As one NL scout said, “He knows want he wants to do on every pitch and that is what gets swings and misses.’’īiggest question mark: A pair of young outfielders in Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna. Fastball is 96 mph, but he has command, too. He only has 67 innings of major league experience, but the 25-year-old pitches with confidence as he earned a rotation spot this spring. Name you’ll get to know: LHP Adam Conley. Only 23 years old, Marlins will watch Fernandez’s innings carefully. Marlins are making the righty try to be a craftier pitcher, less reliant on the fastball, and the spring results were impressive. Player who’ll need to step up: Jose Fernandez is back for a full season after 2014 Tommy John surgery, and that will make all the difference. He already has 181 home runs over 708 games and said Bonds is helping to teach him patience, presence and precision with each at-bat. Stanton’s challenge this season is staying healthy. Key player: Giancarlo Stanton, who else? Super slugger has Barry Bonds as his go-to hitting coach. With better health, some key improvements to the roster and Dusty Baker now the manager, the Nats should be back to peak form. ![]() Can Harper follow his MVP with another one? Sure. How it’ll go down: The Nats will make it to the wild card because baseball may be “tired’’ but Harper is not, and Daniel Murphy’s bat will help tremendously. For all the aggravation, he needs to succeed. Forget about how he fits into the clubhouse or how he gets along with Harper - the biggest question about Papelbon is whether he can still be an elite closer on a contending team at this stage of his career. Could be their Syndergaard.īiggest question mark: Choke Man, Jonathan Papelbon. The Nationals will be careful to limit his innings early in the season in the minors, but they want to make sure he has plenty in the tank when they call him up for the stretch run. Name you’ll get to know: Lucas Giolito is regarded as the top pitching prospect in baseball, a 21-year-old righty who combines Strasburg’s repertoire with Max Scherzer’s pitching acumen and confidence. They’ve gotten 156 games from him - total - the last two years. The Nats can’t afford another season of 100 or fewer games from their cleanup-hitting first baseman. As great as Bryce Harper was last year, he might have been even better with a healthy Zimmerman hitting behind him. Player who’ll need to step up: Ryan Zimmerman. At the end of last season Strasburg was tremendous. In his walk year, Strasburg has an opportunity to put everything together over a full season for the first time, lead the Nationals through October and cash in on the free-agent market next winter. Everything must go wrong for the Mets not to contend. Everything must go right for the Yankees to contend. No rotation is as intimidating as these young guns. ![]() How it’ll go down: The starting rotation lives up to the hype, and with Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and Wheeler, the Mets are in position to roll to their second straight pennant. Either way, the Mets need to get all they can out of Harvey this season because he is eventually destined for free agency. He has a chip on his shoulder and a new arm slot, so expect more downward movement on his pitches.īiggest question mark: Now that his innings limits are behind him, can Matt Harvey be the modern-day version of Tom Seaver? He could be that good. He will give the rotation a lift when he returns in July from Tommy John rehab. Name you’ll get to know: This is a name you will get to re-know - Zack Wheeler. If Wright can’t go and with Daniel Murphy gone to Washington, that’s a lot of missing offense. It’s amazing the Mets were able to do what they did last season with Wright participating in only 38 regular-season games. Player who’ll need to step up: David Wright needs to produce despite living with spinal stenosis. Cespedes’ golf game, his tricked-out vehicles, his horses and his pig all move to the back burner. Mets have off-the-charts pitching, so Yoenis Cespedes must power the offense like he did his first 50 games after being traded to Flushing, where he produced 61 hits, a. Joel Sherman breaks down the American League with insights, predictions and more. The thrilling potential of New York's great arms race How Mets, Yankees exemplify MLB pitching recipe dispute Why 2016 promises MLB's most ruthless trade deadline ever Fantasy baseball: The most overrated and underrated in MLB
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