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Arizona Diamondbacks – Who closes with Paul Sewald out? 

We got a little late-March surprise Monday when the Diamondbacks announced that closer Paul Sewald has a Grade 2 oblique strain and will begin the season on the IL. Pitchers with oblique strains missed, on average, 47 days last season, so I guess that's where we're setting the over/under here. The Diamondbacks have not announced a closer, but I'm guessing Kevin Ginkel is about to get about a month's worth of save opportunities coming off a season where he posted a 2.48 ERA and 9.64 strikeouts per nine innings. 

Atlanta Braves – Does Spencer Strider actually have another level to reach?

Strider just absolutely dominated the Grapefruit League, striking out 39.8% of opposing batters, which would be easy enough to dismiss if Strider wasn't throwing a new curveball. Batters were largely overwhelmed by Strider when he had just a fastball and slider for them to worry about; could the new curveball take his game to another level? With Gerrit Cole dealing with an elbow injury, Strider could really separate himself from the pack at pitcher. 

Baltimore Orioles – How long can they keep Jackson Holliday down? 

The thing that's weird about the Orioles decision to send Holliday down to start the season is, it's not like they're overflowing with infield options on the MLB roster – Ramon Urias looks set to be their starting third baseman, with a career .264/.330/.404 line. If Holliday really is "very, very close," does he just need a hot start at Triple-A to get the call? If Urias and Jordan Westburg struggle, could that accelerate Holliday (and Coby Mayo's!) timelines? 

Boston Red Sox – How does the outfield playing time work out? 

Is Ceddanne Rafaela going to start at center field full time? Will Jarren Duran be an everyday player, or will they guard him from lefties? Does Wilyer Abreu play enough to matter? This is a crowded outfield even with Masataka Yoshida likely serving as a more-or-less full-time DH, but it could become less crowded quickly if they give Rafaela a look at second base – though that might be only a short-term solution with Vaughn Grissom's (groin) return looming around the middle of April. Each of those names could have Fantasy value, but if it's a rotation, it might limit everyone's value. 

Chicago Cubs – Can Cody Bellinger do it again?

This one isn't going to just get answered early in the season, but if Bellinger comes out hitting the ball harder than he did last year, I'll feel significantly worse about my decision to (rather loudly) declare him a bust. If he stumbles out of the gate, all those offseason concerns are going to be even harder to ignore. 

Chicago White Sox – Can they find some pitching answers? 

Between Garrett Crochet, Michael Soroka, and Erick Fedde (not to mention Drew Thorpe at some point relatively soon), the White Sox have some actual interesting names in their rotation right now. Can they help those guys become something more than "interesting?" There's upside in this rotation, though the arm I'll be keeping an even closer eye on might be Michael Kopech, who I'm just assuming will be the closer at this point. 

Cincinnati Reds – Can Elly De La Cruz live up to the hype? 

A few weeks ago, the Reds would have been right there with the Red Sox in terms of playing time question marks, but Noelvi Marte's suspension plus injuries to Matt McLain and TJ Friedl have suddenly answered pretty much all of those questions. Which brings us right back to the biggest question around the Reds: Just how good can De La Cruz be? He brings physical gifts to the table that few players in baseball history can compare with, but he also struck out 34% of the time last season, which might be the kind of flaw that upends the whole experience. If De La Cruz hits even his 75th percentile outcome, he's probably a first-rounder in Fantasy, but there might not be a player with a bigger gap between his ceiling and his floor in the entire league right now. 

Cleveland Guardians – Can the pitching live up to the hype? 

The Guardians have a few young hitters on the verge of making an impact in the majors, but with the decision to send Chase DeLauter and Kyle Manzardo down, we won't get to see them for at least a little while. Which brings us to another Guardians pitching staff full of intriguing options, including the bounceback potential of Shane Bieber. We're also hoping for a bounceback from Triston McKenzie after an injury-ruined season, plus breakouts from Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen, and, eventually, Gavin Williams (who is delayed with an elbow injury). Could the Guardians have another best-in-the-league pitching staff? The upside is certainly there. 

Colorado Rockies – Can they give us anything to get excited about? 

Okay, so there's Nolan Jones, right? And then maybe Ezequiel Tovar? Maybe a dead-cat bounce season from Kris Bryant, Brendan Rodgers, or Charlie Blackmon? I mean, can someone here please take a real step forward and give us just a second quality player to be excited about? Things are so bleak here that I'm honestly wondering if maybe Jake Cave can be Fantasy relevant in a deeper league …

Detroit Tigers – Can the pitching live up to the hype? 

You read that right. Tarik Skubal looked like the best pitcher in baseball last season, but there are other names worth being excited about: Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, and Reese Olson round out one of the most interesting rotations in the league, and we're going to see Matt Manning and Jackson Jobe at some point this summer. This Tigers rebuild could really take flight if these guys hit the ground running. 

Houston Astros – How good can Yainer Diaz be?

There are some questions looming for the Astros, like whether Alex Bregman will be there beyond this season and how Justin Verlander's shoulder injury responds to his attempts to return. But for me, Diaz is the most interesting player on the roster, because the only real knock against him is that his sample size of success at the MLB level is relatively small. If he comes out hitting in April like he did last year, well we might just have the next Salvador Perez on our hands. 

Kansas City Royals – Can Cole Ragans live up to the hype? 

Ragans was a superstar after getting traded to the Royals last season, and he came out this spring with his stuff looking just as good as it did at the end of last season. But he struggled just a bit with command down the stretch, and then turned in a disappointing spring. Can he complete the ace turn? 

Los Angeles Angels – Can one of the young guys step up? 

Is it Nolan Schanuel? What about Zach Neto? Or Logan O'Hoppe? The Angels have some talent, though there isn't much hope for the future here after Shohei Ohtani's exit this offseason. If two of those guys look like an above-average hitter early on in the season, the outlook starts to look a bit brighter; if Reid Detmers and Chase Silseth can live up to their potential, it looks even better. I like all of those names as sleepers, but the Angels need them to carry a pretty heavy load if they're going to be relevant. 

Los Angeles Dodgers – How good will the pitching be? 

I initially wrote "How good can the pitching be?" but I actually don't think that's a particularly interesting question. We know there's an absurd amount of talent on this pitching staff. Can Tyler Glasnow stay healthy? Can Yoshinobu Yamamoto figure out the issues that have tripped him up so far in spring? Can Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone live up to their potential? The Dodgers have their sights set on the best rotation possible in October, but Fantasy players are pretty heavily invested in how good these guys can be before then. Will those two goals come into conflict? 

Miami Marlins – Can they keep churning out pitchers? 

The Marlins are legitimately down to their No. 7, 8, and 9 pitchers in their rotation after a bunch of spring injuries, and incredibly, this is a rotation we're actually really excited to see. Of course, there's a difference between being excited about late-round picks with upside and then those pitchers actually turning into useful Fantasy options once the season starts. A.J. Puk, Ryan Weathers, Trevor Rogers, and Max Meyer could all be must-start pitchers, or any one of them could be out of the rotation by mid-April, either because Edward Cabrera or Braxton Garrett is back (or, on a longer timetable, Eury Perez), or because they either flopped or got hurt. There's upside here, for sure, but no sure things outside of Jesus Luzardo. 

Milwaukee Brewers – Who is the closer? 

We genuinely don't seem to have any clue who the Brewers are going to turn to for their first save with Devin Williams (back) on the IL. My bet is on Joel Payamps, who was the team's primary high-leverage reliever in the innings before the ninth last season. But plenty of Fantasy analysts are giving either Abner Uribe or Trevor Megill the edge. All three are more than capable, so getting that first (successful) save could give whoever gets it some runway to take off. 

Minnesota Twins – Who is the closer? 

With Jhoan Duran (oblique) also out, likely through April, this one is also pretty wide open. Griffin Jax seems like a good bet to work high-leverage situations, but he's not so lights-out that we can take it as a given. Brock Stewart doesn't have nearly the track record, but he was pretty dominant in his return to the majors, striking out 39 in 27.2 innings. I have a sneaking suspicion it might be Stewart, but I'm not willing to bet more than a few FAB bucks on it either way. 

New York Mets – Can Brett Baty become anything? 

Baty has just 119 games under his belt in the majors, but he's hit just .210/.272/.325 in them, and he'll be 25 at the end of this season, so yeah, it's okay to be concerned. The raw power here remains tantalizing, but he just hasn't figured out how to tap into it consistently yet, so what we'll be looking out for early on this season is improvement in Baty's flyball and pull rates. If he can start to elevate the ball a bit more consistently, the whole profile looks a lot better, and that's the kind of skill change that can show up relatively early on. 

New York Yankees – Did Giancarlo Stanton's offseason work pay off? 

Stanton showed up to camp looking noticeably slimmer following an offseason focused more on improving his mobility. He had a nice spring, hitting .317/.370/.659 while striking out just six times in 46 trips to the plate, which is a pretty intriguing change. It's way too early to react to that kind of small-sample change, but it's something to keep an eye on for Stanton this April, because I can still see one last big season left in that bat. 

Oakland Athletics – Is Mason Miller the closer? 

I'm just kind of assuming he is, and I really think he can be one of the best in the league. In 6.2 innings this spring, he struck out 11 while walking just two, and I think it's not unreasonable to expect potentially elite strikeout rates and ratios from him. Of course, on a bad team, even being in a closer committee would make it tough for MIller to have much value for Fantasy, so we'll need to see him earn that job outright. I anticipate he will do so swiftly. 

Philadelphia Phillies – Can Christopher Sanchez live up to the hype?

On a team full of high-priced, veteran stars, there aren't many questions. "Can Trea Turner bounce back?" Yeah, that's one of them, though based on his near-first-round ADP, it seems like that's kind of the expectation. So I'll go with Sanchez, who broke out in a big way thanks to drastically improved command in 2023. He came to spring training with increased velocity, which he says he can sustain while keeping the walks low. If he can, Sanchez could very well be a must-start Fantasy option in 2024. 

Pittsburgh Pirates – How much catcher does Henry Davis play? 

With Yasmani Grandal not expected to be ready for Opening Day, I'm expecting to see Davis in there on Opening Day, and probably pretty frequently after that. So, maybe the real question is, "Does Henry Davis play anywhere else when he isn't catching?" The Pirates have wanted Davis to focus on catcher after he was primarily an outfielder last season, so I don't think we'll see him there very often. But as a DH? That could give Davis even more upside – and I already think he has plenty. 

San Diego Padres – Can Jackson Merrill live up to the hype?

It's kind of a trick question, because there was never all that much hype around Merrill – nobody expected him on the Opening Day roster, and even once he made the roster and started the first two games for the Padres, his ADP in NFBC leagues over the past five days was just 252.7. His minor-league track record doesn't suggest immediate stardom, but he still went 15-15 as a 20-year-old who more than held his own at Double-A. I would be willing to draft him multiple rounds ahead of that ADP. 

San Francisco Giants – Can Jung-Hoo Lee hit the ground running? 

He sure did in the spring, hitting .414/.485/.586 with just three strikeouts in 33 plate appearances. Now, it's a profile that seems like it might be kind of tough to make work for Fantasy, as Lee's career-high in Korea was 23 homers and 13 steals, but he's going to hit leadoff for the Giants, and I think there might be more stolen base potential there than you might think, given the permissive rules in MLB. I would love to see some exit velos approaching 110 mph – he hit one ball 109.7 mph in Spring Training action, which is a good sign. 

Seattle Mariners – Can Bryce Miller break out? 

I originally had Bryan Woo listed here as well, but the elbow inflammation injury that landed him on the IL just before the start of the season obviously changed that for him. So we'll focus on Miller, who added a splitter and reworked his breaking ball to try to become less fastball-reliant after a rookie season that started with promise before flaming out. He had a strong spring, striking out 11 in eight innings, but we didn't get to see much of him in front of the Statcast cameras, so it's hard to draw any conclusions on what those changes might mean. We'll get plenty of looks once the season starts. 

St. Louis Cardinals – Do they give Victor Scott a chance? 

The Cardinals sent Scott to Triple-A over the weekend, but fate keeps trying to give him a chance, this time in the form of an injury to Dylan Carlson Monday. As of writing, we don't know the extent of that injury, nor whether the Cardinals would actually give Scott the call even if it did end up being serious. But the team is down to its fourth-string center fielder right now, so we might be about to find out how much seasoning they really think Scott needs. Given his speed – 94 steals in 132 games last season on a 87% success rate – Scott is going to rank as a top-150 player for me as soon as he gets the call, whenever it is. 

Tampa Bay Rays – Can they unearth any more gems? 

Could Aaron Civale be an ace? Well, they just turned Zach Eflin into one. What about Zack Littell? They had Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs looking like aces last year. Could Richi Palacios be the next Isaac Paredes? I mean, I'm not betting on it, but the point is, the Rays have a tendency to make the seemingly impossible look routine. Someone is going to get off to an uncharacteristically hot start for this team, and you might as well pick them up when they do. Just in case. 

Texas Rangers – Where does Wyatt Langford play?

Given how absurdly dominant he's been at every stop since he was a sophomore in college, the Rangers called up Langford to play, not to sit on the bench. But is it going to be an everyday role right away? They've got an abundance of viable outfield options and may not want to relegate him to a DH role full-time as he's making his MLB debut, so there might be some juggling required here. Who might get left out if Langford is playing everyday? It could be someone with some Fantasy appeal, unfortunately. 

Toronto Blue Jays – Can Kevin Gausman hold up? 

Gausman made his return to game action after dealing with shoulder fatigue Monday, and he looked pretty tremendous. Gausman only threw 50 pitches over three innings, but he struck out seven and his fastball velocity was actually up 0.4 mph from last season. That injury is still a bit of a red flag for Gausman, but if he stays healthy, he sure still looked like an ace Monday. I'm not betting against him right now. 

Washington Nationals – How long can they keep the prospects down? 

Between James Wood and Dylan Crews, the Nationals have an outfield duo at Triple-A that is the envy of pretty much the entire league. So how long do those guys stay down? They might be joined before long by Brady House and Yohandy Morales on the infield, and Cade Cavalli could be back from his Tommy John surgery by the summer, too. This team doesn't have much to get excited about at the MLB level – I mean, Jesse Winker and Nick Senzel might start for them on Opening Day, for crying out loud – so the biggest storyline here is how long it takes for the top prospects to beat down the door.