It was a crucial season at the plate for Jason Heyward. After turning in an extremely promising rookie season, Heyward slumped badly as a sophomore. Though he was just age-22, Heyward had a lot of pressure on him heading into his third season. He did not disappoint. Heyward hit .269/.335/.479 in 651 plate appearances with the Atlanta Braves, slugging 27 home runs and stealing 21 bases. He managed to re-establish himself as one of the best young players in the game. At an age where some prospects are still in the minors, Heyward has already managed to churn out two highly productive major league seasons. Though he took a slight detour, his career to stardom is back on track.

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Bryce Harper arrived much earlier than anyone expected. When the Nationals called up their 19-year-old uber-prospect, it was simply because injuries forced them into the situation. The initial word was that Harper would only play in the majors until the rest of the team was healthy. But Harper’s performance forced the Nationals to keep him around for the rest of the season. And by September, Harper had emerged as one of the team’s best offensive players. Had it not been for Mike Trout, Harper would have received even more accolades for his accomplishments at such a young age. Harper was as good as anyone could have expected last season. So, the big question is: what the heck is he going to do for an encore?

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Through six major league seasons, we still don’t know what to make of Justin Upton. He’s looked like a budding superstar in 2009 and 2011, and merely an adequate outfielder in 2010 and 2012. A number of fantasy teams invested a high draft pick in Upton last season only to be left disappointed by his production. Coming off another down season, by his standards, Upton now faces a similar predicament. Can he emerge as a superstar player again?

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There were quite a few reasons to be concerned about Hiroki Kuroda last season. At age-37, he was reaching a point where few pitchers are able to remain at the top of their game. He was also moving from the NL West to the AL East, and a home ballpark that is friendly to hitters. Despite all of those concerns, Kuroda was masterful once again. Over the past three seasons, Kuroda has been as consistent as they come. Kuroda’s good for a mid-3.00 ERA, with solid strikeout, and low walk, totals. While that level of consistency is uncommon with a player of his age, the now 38-year-old pitcher hasn’t shown any signs of decline just yet.

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What should baseball general managers make of Melky Cabrera? The same question could be asked of fantasy owners. How can we predict, with any confidence, what type of season Cabrera will produce next year? The Blue Jays felt confident enough to give Cabrera a two-year, $16 million contract. And, honestly, Cabrera doesn’t have to be all that good in order to live up to that contract, as my colleague Jeff Sullivan recently explained. But fantasy owners are hoping for more than just a decent performance from Melky going forward. Based on his recent history, how he’ll perform is really anyone’s guess.

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Brian McCann was as consistent as they come until last season. At a generally weak position, McCann’s solid batting average and above-average power numbers led him to finish at the top of catcher rankings for six straight seasons. Owners expected more of the same in 2012. That streak of success came to a screeching halt last year. McCann still managed to hit 20 home runs, but his .230/.300/.399 batting line was easily the worst of his career. Near the midpoint of the season, it was revealed McCann had been dealing with an injured shoulder. The injury would linger the remainder of the season, causing McCann do receive cortisone shots just to stay in the lineup. At season’s end, he revealed that he would have surgery, possibly causing him to miss time early on next season. For the first time in his career, McCann carries a lot of risk.

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Perhaps no player will benefit more from the Toronto-Miami mega-trade than Henderson Alvarez. Opinions are definitely mixed on the 22-year-old starter. Alvarez has shown impressive stuff, and an ability to pound the strike zone, but his lack of strikeouts have become a major issue. His 9.8 K% was the worst among qualified starters. But things got a bit rosier Tuesday night. With the move to Miami, Alvarez not only benefits by going to the National League, but also gets to leave the notoriously tough AL East. Is it enough to make him a fantasy sleeper next season?

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That was unexpected. At age 35, A.J. Pierzynski shattered his season-high home run total and churned out a top-5 season among catchers. Over his career, Pierzynski’s main asset has been his durability and ability to hit for decent averages. He had a few average power seasons once he joined the White Sox, but seemed to be slowing down during his age-33 and age-34 years. Pierzynski’s power surge was the main culprit behind his exceptional season.

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It all started out so promising. Just when it looked like Rafael Furcal’s career was in jeopardy, he started to turn things around. Furcal got off to a blazing start in 2012, hitting .315/.384/.427 in March and April, and improving that line to .349/.397/.486 in May. People had started to think that the 34-year-old Furcal had found the fountain of youth. It didn’t last, and regression hit pretty hard. If his midseason slump wasn’t bad enough, Furcal injured his elbow at the end of August. The injury kept him out for the rest of the season, including the Cardinals playoff run. Now entering his age-35 season, and coming off an elbow injury, it’s a good time to wonder if Furcal is finished.

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It was shaping up to be a breakout season for Led Lowrie. The 28-year-old shortstop had already clubbed a career-high 14 home runs before the start of July, and it was beginning to look like he was living up to the hype. Just a few weeks later, his season was effectively ended after Gregor Blanco slid hard into Lowrie’s ankle. Lowrie did return in September, and received 60 more plate appearances, but his performance was abysmal. Entering this upcoming season, nothing has changed for Lowrie. He remains a talented, injury-prone player at one of fantasy’s weakest positions.

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