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It’s no secret that the Chicago White Sox had an impressive, efficient offseason. A lot of attention went to their additions of right-hander Jeff Samardzija, closer David Robertson, outfielder Melky Cabrera, first baseman Adam LaRoche and even lefty reliever Zach Duke. And deservedly so.

But the final piece to what could be the most improved team in 2015 isn’t even going to be on the Opening Day roster.

Even after a dominant showing in spring training in which he allowed 17 hits and six runs in 17.2 innings with an impressive 21-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio, left-hander Carlos Rodon will begin the year at Triple-A. 

How long the White Sox keep him down, though, is going to be a big factor in the club’s ability to contend—and perhaps even win the AL Central—after a pair of disappointing seasons in 2013 and 2014.

Although Rodon already may be one of Chicago’s five best starting pitchers, having him begin the year down in Charlotte isn’t a bad idea for a handful of reasons.

For one, although he did zoom to Triple-A just months after being selected No. 3 overall last June, Rodon has all of 24.1 innings as a pro under his belt. There’s no need to rush him just yet, even if he is nearly big league-ready.

For another, Rodon does have a few things to work on, namely fastball command and his changeup to pair with his already killer slider.

“Everyone has now seen how devastating his slider can be,” White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said in a recent media session. “He’s shown very good command of his fastball at times. Now it’s a matter of getting the changeup where it needs to be.”

Hahn continued by emphasizing that Rodon “is going to help us, one way or another, in Chicago in the not-too-distant future.”

It’s rather evident that Rodon will impact the White Sox—and quite likely the division race—this season, whether that means pitching in the rotation or even out of the bullpen. Either way, the 22-year-old should make his presence felt.

Stashing Rodon in the minors also allows the White Sox to keep both a literal and figurative ace in the hole until the team determines it’s time to unleash its new weapon on the rest of what should be a highly competitive Central.

Although the Detroit Tigers have dominated the division four years running and the Kansas City Royals made it all the way to the World Series, neither club can be considered a sure thing heading into 2015.

The Tigers’ bullpen remains a potential pitfall (again), and their once-heralded rotation lost Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello. Plus, former ace Justin Verlander is not only in decline but is also now about to be on the disabled list for the first time in his career.

As for the Royals, they’ll be without James Shields, their No. 1 starter the past two years, or Billy Butler, the homegrown designated hitter who spent most of his time as the team’s cleanup hitter in 2014.

Speaking of the Royals, Rodon flat-out owned them in his second-to-last spring outing March 25 when he whiffed (count ’em) nine batters in just four innings without issuing a walk.

And, sure, the Cleveland Indians are getting hyped as a championship-caliber club, but if anything, that only furthers the point: The AL Central is wide open.

For now, the back of Chicago’s five-man consists of lefty John Danks, who is coming off of an awful 2014 (4.74 ERA, 1.44 WHIP), and right-hander Hector Noesi, who is pretty much the embodiment of a stopgap starter (5.16 ERA in parts of four MLB seasons).

In other words, once Rodon shows he’s really ready, not only to debut but to also be an impact arm, he’ll get his shot.

Add Rodon to a rotation that already features hard-throwing newcomer Samardzija sandwiched by two lefties in the often-unhittable Chris Sale and hugely underrated Jose Quintana, and the White Sox have the makings of a one-through-four that can match up with any other rotation in the Junior Circuit.

That, combined with a revamped lineup that now includes Cabrera and LaRoche around reigning AL Rookie of the Year Jose Abreu, one of the game’s best all-around hitters, makes the White Sox a team that could make some noise in the Central.

And maybe, with Rodon’s help, even win it.

Statistics are accurate through Wednesday, April 1, and courtesy of MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.

To talk baseball or fantasy baseball, check in with me on Twitter: @JayCat11  

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

With all the access and information—and accessible information—out there now compared to even a few short years ago, it’s harder that ever to come across a prospect who can truly be classified as “unknown.” But we’ll try to highlight a batch of somewhat-off-the-radar youngsters who are primed to take a big step in their development in 2015.

To that extent, any prospect who made a top-100 list for Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, ESPN or MLB.com was not eligible.

In short, we’re trying to uncover the next big thing to become the next big thing.

For context, some prospects who might have qualified for a list like this a year ago include Dalton Pompey (Toronto Blue Jays), Nomar Mazara (Texas Rangers), Manuel Margot (Boston Red Sox), Dilson Herrera (New York Mets) and Luis Severino (New York Yankees).

With further improvements and a little luck, these 10 lesser-known prospects could put themselves on the map.

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Kris Bryant, arguably the best prospect in baseball and inarguably the crusher of more home runs than any other player this spring training, will start the 2015 season in the minor league. But don’t blame the Chicago Cubs—blame Major League Baseball.

After all, it’s the rules that made this decision entirely inevitable and anything but surprising.

The Cubs announced Monday they had sent Bryant to minor league camp despite his ridiculous .425/.477/1.175 triple-slash line and, count ’em, nine homers.

Bryant could have batted 1.000 and hit a home run every time up, and still, the 23-year-old righty slugger would have begun the regular season in Iowa instead of Chicago. And while it might seem like this makes no sense at all, it actually is a perfectly sound and logical call for the Cubs.

You see, a player’s service-time clock begins ticking as soon as he makes his MLB debut, and once a player accrues six years’ worth of action—or 6.000 in years and days—he becomes a free agent. But if a player is even a few days shy of that mark, it allows the club to pick up what essentially is an “extra” season of team control.

For the Cubs, the decision boils down to this: Miss out on two weeks of Bryant in April 2015…or miss out on Bryant for the entire 2021 season.

In other words, this question of whether Bryant should begin the year in the bigs really isn’t a question at all, given the importance of Bryant, the No. 2 overall draft pick in 2013, to the rebuilding Cubs organization—and given the construction of the current collective bargaining agreement, which allows this path. 

No matter what Bryant’s agent Scott Boras argues:

That’s because everybody—the front-office executives, managers, coaches, players and media—knows that this is a no-brainer for the Cubs.

“Everybody is conscious of it,” New York Yankees lefty reliever Andrew Miller said, via Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. “Hey, we have a chance to make a lot of money in this game, but the rules are the rules. If that works in the Cubs favor, and the Cubs are a better team for that, they’re entitled to (use the rule to their favor). We negotiated that. It’s the reality of what our collective bargaining agreement says.”

Note: This statement is coming from a player.

But this decision is also a bad one for all parties involved.

Bryant will have to wait an extra year to reach free agency and score his first massive contract (unless he signs a long-term extension first). The Cubs could be second-guessed for not putting their best 25 players on the roster, particularly if they fall short of the playoffs by a game or three. The fans won’t get to see a potential superstar in the making at the outset of the season, when attention and attendance are often at their peak.

And we’ll all have to put up with more complaints and criticism from Boras, who admittedly isn’t wrong, either.

Meanwhile, Cubs president Theo Epstein has a point in claiming that Bryant needs more time to marinate in the minors, even though he’s undeniably one of the most talented players in the organization.

“I think it’s very rare that teams keep their 25 most talented players [out of spring training],” Epstein said during an on-air interview from a recent ESPN broadcast. “I like to call guys up for their major league debut in the middle of the season, when they’re in the flow of the game, the grind of the season and they’re comfortable.”

There’s some merit to that sentiment, but it’s also little more than lip service under these circumstances.

And it leads to an uncomfortable situation for everyone, not to mention awkwardly phrased quotes like this one from Cubs manager Joe Maddon, per ESPN.com news services: “[Bryant is] a brilliant talent. I’m not going to sit here and say things that are disingenuous. This guy is good. He’s going to be really good.”

Or the fact that even new MLB commissioner Rob Manfred was asked to weigh in on this controversy.

“Look, I don’t think the Cubs’ decision on what’s going to happen to Kris Bryant is really any of Mr. Boras’ business,” Manfred said, per Sullivan. “The club is in the best position, and the Cubs are in the best position, to decide what’s going to make them the most competitive over the longest period of time.”

All of the above taken into consideration, Bryant is not a completely and utterly finished product, even though some have already seemingly begun to design his Hall of Fame plaque.

His defense remains a work in progress, especially since he’s struggled with his throwing at third base at times this spring and has begun seeing action in the outfield, too. Bryant also has a propensity to swing and miss often, having struck out 27 percent of the time last season and 14 times in 44 exhibition plate appearances.

But Bryant has also done just about everything a young player can do in the minors, having hit .325/.438/.661 with a best-in-baseball 43 home runs between Double- and Triple-A in his first full pro season last year.

Bryant is primed to test himself in the majors. He’s ready for his big-league closeup. Now all we need is for MLB to find a way to solve this problem with the next collective bargaining agreement. That way, when the next Kris Bryant surfaces, the best course of action will involve having him on the field as long—and as soon—as possible.

“[Bryant’s strong spring performance] demonstrated clearly to everybody that he’s really close to being not just in the big leagues but to playing an important role on the team,” Epstein said, according to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. “His camp mattered. We’re more likely to get him sooner than later with how he’s playing and how close he showed [he is].”

Just not soon enough, thanks to MLB’s silly #ServiceTimeShenanigans.

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One of the hottest topics of this spring training centers around Kris Bryant, the Chicago Cubs’ uber-prospect who is blowing up and lapping the field with nine home runs during the exhibition season so far.

In case you’re wondering, no other player has more than five homers.

The shame of it is, Bryant has become such a story not because of the hype and buzz he has created with his mammoth power and promising career about to get underway, but because he probably won’t start the 2015 regular season in the majors.

The Cubs can couch that likelihood all they want, saying Bryant still needs a little more Triple-A time to improve his ability to make contact at the plate or his defense at third base and/or in the outfield. But it’s no secret that the underlying reason why Bryant might not debut until late April is because doing so allows Chicago to tack on an extra year of team control through the 2021 campaign.

But what about other nearly MLB-ready prospects who are still in big league camps and on the verge of getting to The Show?

Some rookies-to-be are positioned to be in the bigs at the start of the 2015 season, like Joc Pederson of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Toronto Blue Jays’ Daniel Norris, Aaron Sanchez and Dalton Pompey, and Jorge Soler, Bryant’s soon-to-be Cubs teammate.

There are many prospects, though, who are this-close to the majors but ultimately might not be there on Opening Day for any number of reasons, from the need for more development in the minors to service time machinations to mediocre spring performances.

And despite strong showings, Francisco Lindor of the Cleveland Indians, Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Texas Rangers’ Joey Gallo already have been sent down. We could—and probably should—see all three of them before 2015 is up.

But remember, not being there on Opening Day doesn’t mean these top youngsters won’t be there—and making an impact—soon enough.

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At the start of spring training, the possibility existed that the Detroit Tigers’ top two hitters might miss the start of the 2015 Major League Baseball season. With only a little more than a week left before Opening Day, however, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez look ready to rock.

Both Cabrera, who has been recovering from offseason ankle and foot surgery, and Victor Martinez, who needed surgery in February after tearing the meniscus in his left knee, were back in the lineup together on Thursday. Oh, and each hit a home run to lift the Tigers to a 6-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

With Detroit down 3-2 in the sixth, Cabrera hit this low-lining laser off the Baltimore Orioles’ Tommy Hunter that somehow cleared the left-field wall to tie it up:

The drive was especially impressive because Cabrera managed not only to turn on a fastball down and in, but also shoot it out with a swing that initially looked like it might have resulted in a hard ground ball.

Two innings later, Martinez’s two-run knock—a much more majestic rain-maker to right—came against Kevin Gausman and broke the deadlock:

Martinez and Cabrera combined for three hits and five RBI—the first three of the spring for Cabrera and first two for Martinez—in the victory. Detroit also went with a lineup that should be very similar to its Opening Day one-through-nine now that the club’s two biggest bats are back.

The Tigers lost some of their once-dominant pitching when they traded Rick Porcello and let Max Scherzer walk. But their offense—now featuring Yoenis Cespedes, who also homered Thursday, and J.D. Martinez for a full season—is going to be dangerous as long as Miggy and V-Mart are healthy.

Given the talent influx in the AL Central, which houses everybody’s popular preseason pick, the Cleveland Indians, the much-improved Chicago White Sox and, oh, by the way, last year’s AL champion Kansas City Royals, Detroit is going to have to rely on its stalwart sluggers.

Orioles, Chris Tillman Talking Extension?

Chris Tillman made some headlines Thursday, and not just for holding the mighty Tigers offense in check for much of the game, allowing just two earned on five hits with a 4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 5.1 frames, thus becoming the first starter to pitch into the sixth inning this spring.

Tillman also has been the subject of speculation that he could be inking a long-term extension:

While that report is promising, it doesn’t mean that a deal of any sort is imminent, even with the theoretical Opening Day deadline.

In fact, that’s just what the soon-to-be 27-year-old told Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com: “We’re not going to continue that into the season. We’ve got two weeks [left] for the most part.”

For the O’s, there’s no real rush, as Tillman remains under team control through the 2017 season. Then again, he did lead a starting rotation that was one of just four to sport a sub-3.00 ERA in the second half of last season. In that span, the right-hander had a brilliant 2.33 ERA and 1.01 WHIP.

Yasiel Puig Stays Red-Hot

Yasiel Puig is trying to give Kris Bryant a run for his money. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ star outfielder powered a 9-6 win by homering for the second day—and his third game—in a row, this time smashing a two-run shot off Brad Penny (yep, that Brad Penny), now of the Chicago White Sox.

After a slow start to spring that saw his batting average sitting at .174 through his first nine games, Puig has gone 6-for-15 with three long balls and eight RBI in his past five contests.

That’s certainly a promising sign for the Dodgers, who need the uber-talented but streaky outfielder to work on being more consistent and picking up the offensive slack that left when the team let Hanley Ramirez sign with the Boston Red Sox and traded Matt Kemp to the San Diego Padres.

Remember, amid an MVP-caliber first half in 2014, Puig went into a power-outage funk from late May into early September, hitting just two homers in 88 games, including one 33-game homerless drought.

David Robertson Battling Arm Soreness

While it’s not necessarily a major concern (yet?), it’s also never a good thing when a club’s new $46 million closer has allowed 11 baserunners and four earned runs in his first 4.2 frames this spring—and is dealing with a bout of forearm soreness, according to Colleen Kane of The Chicago Tribune.

For what it’s worth, Robertson isn’t worried. “I don’t think anything is wrong,” Robertson said via Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago. “I’m not going for MRIs or anything like that. I just got a little soreness. This late in the season, I don’t want to sit there and push something and end up being injured for the start of the season.”

After a pair of disappointing seasons but a busy—and buzz-y—offseason, the Chicago White Sox have a lot riding on 2015 after trading for Jeff Samardzija and signing Melky Cabrera, Adam LaRoche and Zach Duke in addition to Robertson.

While Robertson might not be the most important of those newbies, he does have the task of trying to straighten out a bullpen that hung a 4.38 ERA in 2014, the third-worst in baseball. To do that, he’ll need his full health.

Rangers’ Opening Day Nod Goes to Gallardo

Born in Mexico, Yovani Gallardo grew up a fan of the Texas Rangers. It made for a good story, then, when the 29-year-old was traded to them this offseason. Now that Gallardo has been announced the club’s Opening Day starter, per Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, it makes for an even better narrative.

Gallardo will be starting his sixth straight opener, the last five of which came with the Milwaukee Brewers, the team he tops in strikeouts all time.

“It’s definitely an honor and a privilege to get that ball in Game 1,” Gallardo said. “To have the opportunity to go out there and start Game 1 for a team that I grew up watching as a young kid definitely means a lot more.”

If nothing else, this is the silver lining to the black cloud that has been ace Yu Darvish’s torn ulnar collateral ligament and subsequent Tommy John surgery this spring.

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Not long ago, second base for the New York Yankees was as stable, consistent and productive as any position on any team in Major League Baseball. These days, it’s anything but.

The keystone has become a key question mark for the Yankees ever since Robinson Cano—the last true star position player the club has drafted and developed—surprisingly up and left for the Seattle Mariners as a free agent in December of 2013.

From 2005, his rookie campaign, through 2013, Cano registered a .309/.355/.504 triple-slash line and averaged just shy of 23 homers and just north of 90 RBI a season. He also played—get this—at least 159 games every year from 2007 through 2013.

By comparison, in their first year post-Cano, here’s what the Yankees got out of their second basemen—an aging, injury-prone, past-their-prime conglomeration of, among others, Brian Roberts, Stephen Drew, Martin Prado and Brendan Ryan: .246/.303/.390 with 13 home runs and 53 RBI.

Combined.

Seeking a mulligan for that, New York brought back Drew on a cheap, one-year, $5 million deal to see if the 32-year-old nine-year veteran can do better than his ghastly .150/.219/.271 Yankees line now that he’ll have a full spring training under him.

Manager Joe Girardi already has declared Drew the starting second sacker.

“Our plan is for it to be Stephen,” Girardi said, via Erik Boland of Newsday. “We signed him to be our second baseman.”

But it’s not as if the franchise is counting on Drew to be the long-term answer at the position. The Yankees still are seeking Cano’s replacement.

This year and, especially, going forward, the Yankees have to be wondering who—or what—is on second?

That’s where prospects Robert Refsnyder and Jose Pirela come in as candidates who are nearly ready to be big leaguers and who at least present the possibility of handling second base for years to come.

Refsnyder, who is not yet on the 40-man roster, is a soon-to-be 24-year-old righty hitter and thrower who started to come into his own in 2014. He batted .318/.387/.497 while splitting his season between Double- and Triple-A. That put Refsnyder, who was drafted in the fifth round in 2012, on the prospect map.

That spring, the Korean-born Refsnyder had played outfield for the University of Arizona club that won the College World Series in 2012—he was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player—but he transitioned to second base soon after turning pro.

“He primarily played right field for the Arizona Wildcats,” writes Nick Peruffo of The Trentonian, “but at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, he didn’t project to have the type of power major league teams look for at the corner outfield position.”

Refsnyder, who has hit .346 (9-for-26) with six runs, a homer and a steal this spring, played 122 games at second base in 2014, with another nine in right field.

Unlike Refsnyder, Pirela is on the 40-man and already has made his MLB debut, which came very late last September. Pirela, who also is right-handed, earned the promotion by hitting .305/.351/.441 at Triple-A.

The 25-year-old Venezuela native played all over the diamond at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, seeing time at first and short, in addition to second, as well as all three outfield spots.

Pirela, who has good speed despite a shorter, stockier frame at 5’11” and 210 pounds, has performed well this March, too, going 10-for-27 (.370) with three doubles, two triples and a steal.

That appeared to have put Pirela in position to make the 25-man roster, but a collision with the outfield wall while playing center field on Sunday resulted in a concussion that has his status up in the air at the moment.

“Obviously you’re concerned when a player doesn’t get up,” Girardi said via Jamal Collier of MLB.com. “He did not feel good.”

So, is Refsnyder or Pirela the Yankees’ future at second base? That question can be interpreted one of two ways.

If it’s an either/or—as in, Refsnyder vs. Pirela—then the bet here is on Refsnyder, given that he’s younger, has better plate discipline (.389 career OBP versus .339 for Pirela), has a better pedigree as a fifth-round draft pick and is coming off a breakout 2014 campaign. Plus, he might be able to improve a little more, seeing as he only transitioned to second base a couple of years ago.

Pirela, on the other hand, profiles more as a backup or utility man-type. He can hit well enough, run a bit and play multiple positions, as he has shown this spring and in the minors. There’s always value in versatility, but Pirela doesn’t project as an impact player either offensively or defensively.

Which brings us to the second way to interpret the question above. If it’s taken as a straight query—as in, will one of Refsnyder or Pirela be good enough to become the Yankees’ second baseman of the future?—then the answer is murkier.

In short, it really depends on two things: 1) how much more Refsnyder can develop, especially on defense, and 2) whether the Yankees—a big-market, contend-at-all-costs organization—would feel comfortable going with a second baseman who might fit as more of a second-division regular.

There’s certainly the argument that New York needs to get younger, more athletic and cheaper, and general manager Brian Cashman gradually is remaking the roster with that in mind. That bodes well for Refsnyder, who is about to embark on a very important year. If he continues to develop, not only will Refsnyder make his major league debut, but he also could turn himself into the long-term answer at second base.

Refsnyder isn’t going to remind anyone of Cano, the super-smooth, sweet-swinging superstar of a second baseman. But then again, no one else in MLB at the position does, either.

Statistics are accurate through Monday, March 23 and courtesy of MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Pitchers are ever evolving, constantly altering mechanics, tweaking their deliveries just so or even working on adding new pitches.

Spring training is the best place to try to implement those changes, because the exhibition season presents game situations that don’t actually count.

All of the work, none of the mess.

Here’s a look at a batch of pitchers who are using the spring to make some adjustments.

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Most everyone knows by now not to put too much stock into spring training performances for any number of reasons. Pitchers are building up innings, hitters are getting back into the, uh, swing of things, and prospects and non-roster invitees receive a lot of playing time that they won’t once the real games begin.

Regardless, it’s still fun to check in every once in a while to see which players are doing well and which aren’t. The statistics don’t count, but they’re available—and who knows, maybe some of ’em do matter even a little.

Since there are plenty of candidates for each side—hot and not—the focus here will be on players who should be on Opening Day rosters, as opposed to prospects with plenty still to prove, like Kris Bryant (.435 BA, 6 HR, 9 RBI), Joc Pederson (.433 BA, 2 HR, 6 RBI) and Micah Johnson (.444 BA, 7 R), or veterans merely looking to hang on, like Jason Marquis (14.0 IP, 8 H, 5 ER).

Same goes on the not-so-hot side for, say, Javier Baez (.100 BA, 11 K), who falls into the former category, or Jonny Gomes (.129 BA, 10 K) in the latter.

And, well, we just plain feel bad for Ezequiel Carrera at this point. Dude has gone hitless with 12 strikeouts in 28 at-bats. He’s clearly not hot, but here’s a group of others who are—and some more who are in Carrera’s camp.

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With spring training halfway over and the start of Major League Baseball’s regular season a little more than two weeks away (yay!), now is the time when teams start making cuts and sending prospects to minor league camp.

Those youngsters still with the big league club actually have something of a legitimate shot to crack the 25-man roster come April.

With that in mind and with a focus on prospects who could contribute in 2015, it’s time to grade all 30 farm systems based on prospect performance this spring.

Sure, the sample size is tiny and the competition is inconsistent, but the exhibition season provides at least a little something to go on. So join us as we break out our red pens.

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