The Indians’ outfield underperformed last season, posting a combined .315 wOBA and only hitting 44 home runs. Such a lack of production led to a major overhaul. Shin-Soo Choo was shipped to in-state foe Cincinnati in a three-team trade that brought Drew Stubbs (amongst others) to Cleveland, the club chose to part ways with Johnny Damon and Shelley Duncan, and the Indians also dipped into the free agent market by signing Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher to multi-year deals.

The flurry of transactions should result in an improved offense for the Indians for fantasy owners.

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Few teams have experienced as much of a dramatic overhaul to the starting rotation this winter as have the Kansas City Royals. The starters underperformed in 2012, posting a combined 5.01 ERA, and the organization brought new blood. In fact, the Royals could conceivably break camp with a starting rotation that features five pitchers who were not on the 25-man roster last year on Opening Day. Crazy.

The top four starters in spring training are guaranteed spots in the rotation, according to manager Ned Yost. That means James Shields, Jeremy Guthrie, Ervin Santana and Wade Davis will anchor the staff for the Royals to begin the season. That also means the battle for the fifth spot in the rotation has not been settled, and four pitchers are vying for the opportunity to break camp as a starter: Bruce Chen, Luke Hochevar, Luis Mendoza, and Will Smith.

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The Milwaukee Brewers return an offense that scored the third-most runs in Major League Baseball. Their team .329 wOBA ranked second in the National League behind the Colorado Rockies, their 202 home runs topped in the NL, and their 158 stolen bases were the best in baseball last season.

Combine that prolific offense with minimal personnel turnover, and it’s not difficult to see why the Brewers have very few positional battles in camp this spring. That extends to the infield, which has entrenched starters around the diamond. A preseason injury to Corey Hart throws a wrench into the depth chart to begin the year, but he’s only expected to miss approximately a month. After his return, the Brewers will feature the same infield they trotted out throughout the final two months last season.

Missing Opening Day is nothing new for Corey Hart, who will miss the start of the season for the third time in the past four years. His absence creates a void at first base for the Brewers for the first month, and perhaps longer. The organization wants to focus on internal options this spring, and the leading candidates for playing time at first base with Hart on the DL appear to be veteran Alex Gonzalez and 26-year-old Taylor Green.

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The Milwaukee Brewers no longer have Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum pitching two out of every five games, but don’t sleep on the Brewers’ potential rotation for the 2013 season. It should still provide fantasy value for owners on draft day.

The starting rotation for Milwaukee last year compiled a combined 8.37 K/9 strikeout rate, which ranked best in all of baseball. Not all of that can be attributed to Greinke and Marcum, either. Four starters struck out more than a batter per inning — Mark Rogers, Mike Fiers, Marco Estrada, and Yovani Gallardo — and all four could secure roles in the Opening Day starting rotation for the Brewers.

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The Seattle Mariners came into the 2012 season with plenty of hype surrounding their young hitters. Dustin Ackley was poised to improve on his .337 wOBA as a rookie in 2011, and Jesus Montero was considered a can’t-miss bat who was going to try and play catcher. Kyle Seager also took over third base on a full-time basis, and Justin Smoak was finally going to realize his potential at the plate.

Many fantasy owners jumped on the bandwagon, but the wagon seemingly broke down early in the season and was unable to recover. As a team, the Mariners compiled a league-worst .291 wOBA and scored the least amount of runs in the American League with 619. In fact, the next-closest American League team in runs was the Cleveland Indians, who outscored the Mariners by 48 runs on the season.

That’s not to say owners were foolish for jumping on the bandwagon. Many promising, young position players struggle to make the transition to the big leagues, and one lousy season does not define a young player’s development. Not to mention, in Ackley’s case, he not only had to deal with opposing teams having ample time and video to adjust to his various strengths and weaknesses, but he also added a painful bone spur in his left ankle to the equation.

The depth chart is murky, though, because the Mariners have several infield prospects rising up the system who enjoyed significant success last season. There are no blatant playing-time battles this spring, but if anyone spins their wheels coming out of the gate once again, the organization could look to explore other young, internal options.

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Last season, the Houston Astros’ outfield proved absolutely inept offensively. They compiled a league-worst .287 wOBA and combined for a paltry .221/.296/.351 slash line. That led to the departure of Jordan Schafer and Brian Bogusevic this winter. It has also set the stage for a crowded outfield competition this spring in Kissimmee, Florida.

No outfield position has been carved into stone. J.D. Martinez reportedly has the inside track in left field, despite struggling with a -0.2 WAR and .303 wOBA in 439 plate appearances last year. GM Jeff Luhnow, however, recently said that Chris Carter and Rule-5 draftee Nate Freiman could also see some time in left field to provide more thump to an offense that projects to lack significant home run power.

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In the coming weeks, we’ll be covering each team’s potential depth charts in an effort to shine a spotlight on the interesting playing time battles that will be waged this spring. Obviously none of these depth charts are set in stone — rather they should function to focus your attention in the right places to find cheap fantasy value.

The Padres’ position players are routinely a fantasy afterthought due to the oppressive run environment in Petco Park. They’re full of young, interesting talent this year, though. Chase Headley enjoyed a breakout season in 2012 and will be the everyday starter at third base. Yonder Alonso saw 600+ plate appearances at first base last year and will likely do so again this season. Finally, Everth Cabrera should be the Opening Day starter at shortstop, with Alexi Amarista getting occasional spot starts.

However, second base could be up for grabs this spring, and the suspension of Yasmani Grandal threw a sizeable wrench into the Padres’ plans at catcher early in the year. These are the two main battles to watch this spring.

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In the coming weeks, we’ll be covering each team’s potential depth charts in an effort to shine a spotlight on the interesting playing time battles that will be waged this spring. Obviously none of these depth charts are set in stone — rather they should function to focus your attention in the right places to find cheap fantasy value.

The Rockies’ outfield projects to provide ample fantasy value this upcoming season. In 2012, their outfield combined to compile a .286/.349/.482 slash line, and their combined .357 wOBA ranked the best in all of baseball. And with both Carlos Gonzalez and Dexter Fowler in their respective primes, it doesn’t appear fantasy owners should be shying away from the Rocky Mountain Outfield on draft day anytime soon.

Despite the fact that Dexter Fowler appears to have the center field position on lockdown, the depth chart isn’t devoid of potential movement. The Rockies still could have a handful of players jockeying for playing time at the corner outfield positions if everything breaks correctly, and as always, injuries will ultimately play a factor in how many at-bats are available to players.

Here are some storylines to which fantasy owners should be paying attention this upcoming season.

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Right-hander Brandon Morrow has been a fantasy sleeper since transitioning to the starting rotation full-time in 2010. He’s always been a guy with electric stuff, huge strikeout rates and solid FIPs/SIERAs — but his ERA has never seemingly lived up to the billing due to low strand rates and poor command. For many owners, he became the quintessential fantasy tease the past few years: a guy with enormous potential who always disappointed in the end.

As they say…

Fool me once — 4.49 ERA in 2010 — shame on you.
Fool me twice — 4.72 ERA in 2011 — shame on me.

Fool me three times … well, that wasn’t going to happen for many owners. Consecutive years of disappointment proved too much. In fact, several people I know blacklisted Morrow and simply refused to draft him for the 2012 season.

However, those fantasy owners who drafted the right-hander last year and trusted Morrow would finally deliver on his potential were rewarded. He compiled a 2.96 ERA, cut his walk rate to a career-best 2.96 BB/9, and posted the tenth-best WHIP (1.11) among all starters who threw at least 100 innings. Injuries held him back from a top-tier fantasy season, but the message came through loud and clear: Brandon Morrow has finally arrived.

But perhaps that was the wrong message to hear.

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Right-hander Brandon Lyon likely isn’t on too many fantasy radars this winter. After all, he has only compiled five saves over the past two seasons and owns an uninspiring 6.15 K/9 career strikeout rate. A shoulder injury in 2011 and two-plus years with the Houston Astros also contribute to his removal from the collective fantasy consciousness.

With the news that Lyon should be joining the New York Mets bullpen, however, fantasy owners should once again start paying attention to the 33-year-old former closer.

Non-closing relievers do have value in most deeper fantasy formats, but aside from the standard solid run prevention, they ideally must provide ample strikeouts and a chance at save opportunities to justify selection on draft day. Coming into the 2012 season, Brandon Lyon did not project to offer either of those. His strikeout rate had been below-average throughout his career, and Brett Myers had the closer’s role on lockdown in Houston.

A year can make quite the difference.

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