Please put in “Slide Show” mode.

WILL CHRIS DAVIS BECOME THE SUPERSTAR HE ONCE WAS?

WILL BILLY HAMILTON LIGHT UP THE

BASEPATHS?

WILL GIANCARLO STANTON SLUMP WITH THE EXTENSION?

WILL JOSH DONALDSON REMAIN AN ALL-STAR IN TORONTO?

Burning Questions

Major League Baseball- MLB News and Updates

Fantasy Ranks-Team Previews-

Projected Batting Orders-Interactive Menus-

Standing Projections-Team Projections-

Impact Players-

However you found us, thanks for taking our word into consideration. We really appreciate it. Our page has grown into a Facebook page staple, with 7,500 plus likes at the time of this writing. I would personally like to thank all our admins, our contributors to the magazine, the main admin, Justin, and you. Seriously, I couldn’t ask for a better team to work with. Please enjoy.

I feel we should note at this time we are not associated with or licensed by the MLB or the MLBPA. We are a volunteer run page group with an all organic following. We wish we could use images and Team Names, but unfortunately, due to copyright, we cannot.We worked hard on this, and we are hoping to make this our 1st annual.

There are also examples of work from two of our sites here. Both have free options to provide great content.Thanks again for the consideration, and we hope you enjoy. This is Version 1.3.

Patrick Melbourne,Editor In Chief@patrbaseballfan

First off, thanks.STAFF AND CONTRIBUTORS

Patrick MelbourneEditor In Chief, Preview Magazine

George GrotheerIsaac Edwards

Chad RobinsonDevon Puchailo

David ReedJoel Sosa

Ricardo Caraballo Contributing Authors, Preview Magazine

Patrick MelbourneGeorge Grotheer

Devon PuchailoLogo Design, Preview Magazine

Justin R.Patrick M.

Main Administrators of the Facebook PageChristopher C.

Grant D.Isaac E.

Grant D.George G.

David R.Josh M.Vinh N.

Abdullah N.CJ O.

Devon P.Chad R.

James R.J. Sosa

Editors of the Facebook Page

Major League Baseball- MLB News and Updates

Josh Donaldson’s JourneyBy Isaac Edwards

Brian McCann: Behind the PlateBy George Grotheer

Not Overreacting to Yoan Moncada’s New GigBy Patrick Melbourne

Potential 2016 Free Agents and Where They are GoingBy George Grotheer

Potential 2016 Free Agents and Where They are GoingBy George Grotheer

EDWIN ENCARNACION, DH

If Toronto doesn’t win this season, EE may not want to stick around for the future. If they do, he is

staying.–Patrick Melbourne

DAVID PRICE, PITCHER

Leaving Detroit may be an opportunity to go to a more pitcher friendly park, like San Diego’s PETCO. The money New York will give will be tempting as

well. –Patrick Melbourne

YOENIS CESPEDES, OF

He’s a spectacular talent, but there are rumblings of him being a clubhouse poison. Who knows where

he could go?–Patrick Melbourne

David Price LHP New York (AL) Justin Upton OF Anaheim Jordan Zimmermann RHP St. Louis Jose Bautista OF Toronto Johnny Cueto RHP Miami Matt Wieters C Pittsburgh Edwin Encarnacion 1B Toronto David Ortiz DH Boston Yoenis Cespedes OF Chicago Ian Desmond SS New York Jeff Samardzija RHP Chicago (AL) Zack Greinke RHP Chicago (NL) Adrian Beltre 3B San Francisco Ben Zobrist 2B Tampa Bay Jason Heyward OF St. Louis RA Dickey RHP Oakland Jonathan Papelbon RHP Milwaukee Alexei Ramirez SS Washington Chase Utley 2B Los Angeles Denard Span OF Detroit Mat Latos RHP Cleveland Santiago Casilla RHP San Francisco Justin Morneau 1B Oakland Aramis Ramirez 3B Miami Alfredo Simon RHP Detroit Adam Lind DH Toronto Alex Avila C Baltimore Jeremy Affeldt LHP San Francisco Dexter Fowler OF Colorado Mike Napoli 1B Boston Doug Fister RHP Houston Bobby Parnell RHP Detroit Alcides Escobar SS Kansas City Joakim Soria RHP Kansas City Yovani Gallardo RHP Milwaukee Nori Aoki OF St. Louis Fernando Rodney RHP Texas Marlon Byrd OF Tampa Bay Asdrubal Cabrera SS Cleveland Clay Buchholz RHP Boston Cody Ross OF Arizona Tim Hudson RHP Retirement Juan Uribe 3B Los Angeles Shane Victorino OF San Diego Casey McGehee 3B Japan

David Freese 3B Milwaukee Colby Rasmus OF Washington David Murphy OF Seattle Jimmy Rollins SS Philadelphia Joe Nathan RHP Retirement

The (Second) Rise of Brian McCannBy George Grotheer

Position- CatcherBats- LeftThrows- Right Height- 6' 3", Weight- 230 lb.

8 Brian McCann facts and statistics_____________________________1 Seven-time All-Star

2 Five-time Silver Slugger

3 Has played for Atlanta and New York (AL)

4 Team USA in the 2009 World Baseball Classic

5 Born in Athens, Georgia

6 Got his first playing opportunity when C Johnny Estrada was traded

7 Has baseball clinics for kids aged 5–18

8 Career .272 average, one HR shy of 200

Brought in to fill the team’s void of big-league-ready catching talent, Brian McCann was New York’s first major splash of the 2013-2014 offseason. Signed to a 5-year, $85 million contract with a sixth year, $15 million club option, McCann struggled to produce in the first several months of his tenure behind the dish in the Bronx. After a down season which many believe to be a fluke based on his history and acclimation to a new league and division, McCann should put up MVP-caliber numbers in his sophomore season in New York. A career .277 hitter before he hit free agency in October of 2013, McCann’s offensive production fell off a cliff in New York, as he batted almost 50 points below his career batting average. With an increased workload and addition of new positional options (he played first base for the first time in his career for sixteen games and appeared at DH fourteen times), McCann appeared in 140 games, a total which he had not reached since his age-26 season in Atlanta in 2010. The increased amount of work may have added to his slumped season, but the offensive shift also hurt him mightily. McCann consistently hit into the shift throughout the season, which decimated his average.

If that showed a sign of things to come for McCann, the Bronx Bombers should be seeing a lot more of that talent in 2015. Expect McCann to hit between 18 and 25 home runs with 75-90 RBIs and a .270 batting average, at worst. We should foresee minimized time at first base with the additions of Garrett Jones and Alex Rodriguez, and a greater command of the game from behind the plate with a rotation of Masahiro Tanaka (age 26), CC Sabathia (34), Michael Pineda (26), Nathan Eovaldi (25), and Chris Capuano (36) (later Ivan Nova-age 28).

Overall, McCann will be better offensively in 2015. Behind the dish, he should see a continuation of his 37% caught stealing rate in 2014. Without Derek Jeter in the clubhouse, McCann will likely become a greater force in the clubhouse as a team leader. In the words of manager Joe Girardi, the Bombers have “the next great Yankee (TM) catcher [with them].”

In 2015, we should see the resurgence of Brian McCann. He’s not too far past his prime at age 31, and while we might not see the .301/.373/.523 line with 23 homers and 87 RBIs, McCann’s September surge in 2014 showed his potential, with 8 of his 23 dingers coming in the month.

Not Overreacting to Yoan Moncada’s New GigBy Patrick Melbourne

Notable Big Leaguers from Cuba_____________________________1 Steve Bellán (First Ever)

2 José Abreu

3 Yonder Alonso

4 Erisbel Arruebarrena

5 Yuniesky Betancourt

6 Rusney Castillo

7 Yoenis Céspedes

8 Aroldis Chapman

9 José Contreras

10 José Fernández

11 Yasmani Grandal

12 Adeiny Hechavarria

13 José Iglesias

14 Kendrys Morales

15 Yasiel Puig

16 Alexei Ramírez

17 Jorge Soler

18 Dayán Viciedo

Position- Second BasemanBats- SwitchThrows- Right Height- 6' 2", Weight- 205 lb.

Yoan Moncada is a major gamble forany big league team. After Boston tookthat gamble, they had to look at this player and ask the question- “What did we actually acquire?” He is a 19 year old. He is an infielder. He did reasonably well in Cuba (.277, 4 HR). Players from Cuba are greeted well by fans now, similar to how they reacted to Japanese players coming over, but everyone has to stop and look a little closer (Even if he is a great prospect).

First, lets look at age. Jose Abreu is 28. Yasiel Puig is 24. These guys are both somewhat proven, each putting out good seasons so far in the “experiment.” Moncada is 19. If a player from the United States or Canada came out at 19, everyone would immediately say “He isn’t ready.” Instead, everyone is looking at Moncada the way they look at Los Angeles’ Puig, a star immediately, sign him now, play him now. It just has to wait.

Next, lets take a look at the mentality of the GM in the situation and why it is wrong. One currently looks at a Cuban player and compares to an Abreu or a Puig. You can’t do that. In the US, players are looked at differently and not immediately compared. They play first, and then are compared. Moncada is yet to play in the big leagues, so comparing him to Abreu or Puig is outlandish.

These assumptions are a little wild as of now, so let’s slow down and see what Yoan Moncada will actually turn out like.

If a player from the United States or Canada came out at 19, everyone would immediately say “He isn’t ready”

Baseball Rule 5 Draft 2015 Results

ROUND 11. Arizona : C Oscar Hernandez2. Colorado: IF Mark Canha3. Texas: OF Delino DeShields Jr4. Houston: RHP Jason Garcia5. Minnesota: RHP J.R. Graham6. Boston: RHP Jandel Gustave7. Chicago: SS Taylor Featherston8. Philadelphia : IF David Herrera9. Miami : LHP Andrew McKirahan10. New York: LHP Sean Gilmartin11. Atlanta : RHP Daniel Winkler12. Seattle : LHP David Rollins13. Baltimore : RHP Logan VerrettROUND 214. Philadelphia: LHP Andrew OliverTRIPLE-A PHASE1. Arizona : RHP Timothy Crabbe2. Colorado : RHP Kyle Simon3. Texas : 1B Roderick Shoulders4. Houston C Luis Flores5. Minnesota : RHP Greg Peavey6. Chicago (AL): RHP Peter Tago7. Chicago (NL): OF Ariel Ovando8. Cincinnati: C Camden Maron9. Miami : LHP Matthew Tomshaw10. San Diego: SS Juan Gamboa11. Tampa Bay : RF Luis Urena12. Atlanta : C Steven Rodriguez13. Cleveland: RHP Delvy Francisco14. San Francisco: RHP Ramon Del Orbe,15. Detroit : RHP Jheyson Manzueta16. St. Louis: RHP Tyler Waldron17. Los Angeles: OF Peter Lavin18. Baltimore : OF Sean Halton19. Anaheim: IF Chris Curley20. Texas : SS Hiram Martinez21. Cincinnati : RHP Euclides Leyer22. Miami : 1B Harold Riggins23. Tampa Bay: RHP Michael O'Brien24. San Francisco: CF Brett Jackson25. Los Angeles : RHP Alexander Santana26. Anaheim: SS Pedro Ruiz27. Miami : LHP Alexander Burgos28. Los Angeles: RHP Randy Fontanez29. Anaheim: RF Kentrail Davis30. Los Angeles: SS Nathan Samson

It's now 2015, and teams are looking for ways to improve in the offseason. Sometimes this strategy works, sometimes not. On the ESPN Fantasy Focus Baseball Podcast, Eric Karabell and Tristan (Happy) Cockcroft talked about why Billy Beane wasn't being himself with these recent acquisitions of Brett Lawrie and Billy Butler. The two noted that they are both ground ball hitters. And why not obtain those hitters? Because O.Co.

If it seems like this column is unfocused, it's not. I just want to highlight some of the offseason moves that will, in my opinion, fail. In other words, here are two busts.

BUST ACQUISITIONS

Brett Lawrie, 3B, OaklandFirst up, Brett Lawrie. Lawrie was in a hitters ballpark and did almost nothing. You would think that in his slight defense, he was injured. Unfortunately, that only hurts his cause. (And yes Mr. Lawrie, blaming the turf is a terrible excuse. Stop it.)

Bob Elliott wrote an excellent Toronto article about Lawrie's injuries not being related to the artificial turf. Elliott highlighted the hand, back and rib cage injuries as evidence that the Turf was innocent. It is hard to argue with the reasoning, quite frankly.

Lawrie, according to ESPN statistics, has hit for an average of .265 in his career. He also has only hit 43 home runs with 9 coming in from his first year. That's extremely mediocre, coming from a player who was so highly touted as "the next big thing." I don't think he can sustain in a middle of the road (not pitcher- friendly and not hitter- friendly) ballpark.

Alex Rios, OF, Kansas City

The second player I wanted to talk about is also an ex- Toronto player, funnily enough. And really, Kansas City? CBSSports.com first reported this offseason that Alex Rios was signing an 11 million dollar contract with KC. Rios has played for Toronto, Chicago (AL), Texas, and now KC. Rios has had a pretty good career, going above a .280 batting average quite often in his 10 year career. (04, 06, 07, 08, 10, 12,13, and 14.)

The reason I'm slightly negative on this deal, like so many others, is the contract. Many columnists, including some at ESPN (Eric Karabell) note "There are no bad one year contracts." Well, that's true... in theory. That assessment quickly breaks down when you look at the contract of Rios. One year for a player who hits above .270 and can give you 10+ home runs (10 times in his career, courtesy ESPN for the stats) is not a bad deal. The 11 million dollar part hurts. Let's do a quick comparison with a similar player and his recent contract.

Jed Lowrie. 3 yrs, 23 million with Houston. Divides to 7.6 million a year for a very similar player. He's not bad defensively and owns both a .261 average, and .333 OBP, the latter stat only consisting of 7 points more than Rios (Stats courtesy again of ESPN). Advantage- Jed Lowrie.

The Rios signing is a good deal, just overpriced. That is simply why he is a bust at the price.

The players are dangerous adds to the teams. We just will have to wait and see the results.

Why The Alex Rios Signing Won’t WorkBy Patrick Melbourne

WILL CHRIS DAVIS BECOME THE SUPERSTAR

HE ONCE WAS?

WILL BILLY HAMILTON LIGHT UP THE BASEPATHS?

WILL GIANCARLO STANTON SLUMP WITH

THE EXTENSION?

WILL JOSH DONALDSON REMAIN AN ALL-STAR IN

TORONTO?

I think so. After last year’s suspension, he should be pumped to get going. He needs to learn to stop swinging at everything though.

Yep. He will. He will steal more than any other in the big leagues.Enough said.

No, he won’t, because he is a fighter. He is the number two ranked player in fantasy. He needs to stay healthy.

He is moving into a hitters ballpark, and he is coming off his second straight MVP top 10. This is a serious problem forthe rest of the AL East.

Burning QuestionsBy Patrick Melbourne

For More

http://asportschannel.weebly.com/

Baltimore will get in because of the young talent. I couldn’t

care less about the flaws becausethe young talent will emerge

under Showalter here.

I love what they are doing, And the recent signing of Shields

cements it. I’ll jump on here… San Diego for the win this year!

WS Predictions from our team editors-Patrick- SD over BaltimoreDevon- Oakland vs Los Angeles (NL)George- New York (AL) vs WashingtonVinh- Washington winsRiley- New York (AL) winsJustin- Boston vs Chicago (NL)Joel- Boston vs Chicago (NL)CJ- Boston vs Washington

WS PredictionsBy Patrick Melbourne

David Reed’s Projected Playoff BracketPlease click the black box, Not the text.

Power RankingsBy Patrick Melbourne

1 San Diego2 Baltimore

3 Washington4 Oakland

5 Kansas City6 St. Louis7 Toronto8 LA9 Anaheim

10 Boston11 Pittsburgh12 Atlanta13 Detroit14 Cincinnati15 Seattle16 NY (AL)17 SF

18 New York (NL)19 Texas20 Colorado21 Miami22 Chicago23 Cleveland24 Arizona

25 Milwaukee

26 Chicago (AL)27 Houston

28 Philadelphia

29 Tampa Bay

30 Minnesota

MVP Cy Young Mike Trout, Anaheim Corey Kluber, Cleveland

Sure, it seems like a very, verysafe choice. But when you look at Trout’s last few seasons with LA, how can you not predict itagain?

Projected Statline-AVG- .305HR- 27SB- 19RBI- 135

Fantasy Advice (Preseason)Snake- 1st RoundAuction- 62$

Kluber came out of nowhere to dominate the entire big leagues last year. The last player to do that was a first baseman nicknamed EE on Toronto. Is this a fluke? Maybe. But we don’t think so.

Projected Statline-W/L- 18- 6ERA- 3.34K- 249BB- 38

Fantasy Advice (Preseason)Snake- 3rd RoundAuction- 30$

Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles (NL)

#1 Pitcher on the planet. He should take home Cy Young easily. This should be hisprime year at 27.MVP? We think he will.

Projected Statline-W/L- 23-5ERA- 1.98K- 301BB- 26

Fantasy Advice (Preseason)Snake- 1st RoundAuction- 62$

Award ProjectionsBy Patrick Melbourne

David Reed’s Award Projections

2014 Admins Fantasy DraftTeams 1-2

2014 Admins Fantasy DraftTeams 3-4

2014 Admins Fantasy DraftTeams 5-6

2014 Admins Fantasy DraftTeams 7-8

Injury Risk SleeperGiancarlo Stanton (Miami) Yan Gomes (Cleveland)

Played two seasons under 150 games. 2 out of 5 is a little too many injury shortened seasons to be comfortable.

Fantasy Advice (Preseason)Snake- 4th Overall, 1st RoundAuction- 55$

Gomes has been undervalued by many rankers. I like him as my number 3 catcher.

Fantasy Advice (Preseason)Snake- 5th Round, 3rd Overall CatcherAuction- 29$

Fantasy NotesBy Patrick Melbourne

Mike Trout ANAHEIMGiancarlo Stanton MIAMIAndrew McCutcheon PITTSBURGHPaul Goldschmidt ARIZONAClayton Kershaw LOS ANGELESEdwin Encarnacion TORONTOJose Abreu CHICAGO (al)Anthony Rizzo CHICAGO (nl)Michael Brantley CLEVELANDJose Altuve HOUSTONJose Bautista TORONTORobinson Cano SEATTLEFelix Hernandez SEATTLEYasiel Puig LOS ANGELESTroy Tulowitski COLORADOMadison Bumgarner SAN FRANCISCOMiguel Cabrera DETROITJacoby Ellsbury NEW YORK (al)Max Scherzer WASHINGTONCarlos Gomez MILWAUKEEAdam Jones BALTIMOREAdrian Beltre TEXASFreddie Freeman ATLANTAChris Sale CHICAGO (al)Anthony Rendon WASHINGTONJosh Donaldson TORONTODavid Price DETROITCorey Kluber CLEVELANDHanley Ramirez BOSTONEvan Longoria TAMPA BAYBuster Posey SAN FRANCISCOIan Desmond WASHINGTONStephen Strasburg WASHINGTONAdam Wainwright ST LOUISBryce Harper WASHINGTONRyan Braun MILWAUKEEYu Darvish TEXASJose Reyes TORONTOCorey Dickerson COLORADOJustin Upton ATLANTAJon Lester BOSTONYoenis Cespedes DETROITCarlos Gonzalez COLORADOKole Calhoun ANAHEIMMatt Kemp SAN DIEGODavid Ortiz BOSTONVictor Martinez DETROITCraig Kimbrel ATLANTANelson Cruz SEATTLESonny Gray OAKLAND

Fantasy Top 50By Patrick Melbourne

AL EAST AL CENTRAL AL WESTNY 92-70 Chicago 94-68 Anaheim 98-64Boston 90-72 Detroit 88-74 Seattle 91-71Toronto 87-75 Kansas City 85-77 Oakland 83-79Tampa Bay 81-81 Cleveland 80-82 Houston 74-88Baltimore 76-86 Minnesota 69-93 Texas 70-92

George Grotheer’s Projections

Devon Puchailo’s AL East Summary and Projections

Isaac Edwards’ AL East Summary and Projections

Patrick Melbourne’s AL Central Summary and Projections

Patrick Melbourne’s AL West Summary and Projections

Patrick Melbourne’s AL Projections

Ricardo Caraballo’s New York (AL) Preview

Devon Puchailo’s Tampa Bay Preview

George Grotheer’s AL East Summary and Projections

George Grotheer’s AL Central Summary and Projections

George Grotheer’s AL West Summary and Projections

American League Projections

PROJECTED BATTING ORDERSPatrick Melbourne’s Toronto Preview

George Grotheer’s New York (AL) PreviewDavid Reed’s Standings Projections

Please click the black box, Not the text.

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National League Projections

George Grotheer’s Projections

Ricardo Caraballo’s Miami PreviewIsaac Edwards’ Arizona Preview

Please click the black box, Not the text.

NL EAST NL CENTRAL NL WESTWashington 99-63 St. Louis 94-68 SF 88-74Miami 86-76 Chicago 85-77 LA 84-78NY (NL) 79-83 Pittsburgh 81-81 San Diego 84-78Atlanta 74-88 Milwaukee 78-84 Colorado 79-83Philadelphia 65-97 Cincinnati 76-86 Arizona 66-98

Devon Puchailo’s NL East Summary and Projections

George Grotheer’s NL East Summary and Projections

George Grotheer’s NL Central Summary and ProjectionsGeorge Grotheer’s NL West Summary and Projections

National League Projections

Ricardo Caraballo’s San Diego PreviewPROJECTED BATTING ORDERS

David Reed’s Standings Projections

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2015

Magazine Over.