Dark Horses Who Could Win MLB's Hottest Upcoming Spring Position Battles

Major League Baseball’s offseason is winding down, and before we know it pitchers and catchers will start reporting for spring training.

With that timeline in mind, most general managers are still trying to plug holes on their respective rosters or at least build depth in anticipation of position battles during spring training.

Teams are usually reluctant to break camp with young, inexperienced prospects on the big league roster—especially if they’re not already on the 40-man roster. Instead, they prefer to send them to Double- or Triple-A for a few more months of seasoning and to avoid an extra year of arbitration down the road.

However, there are numerous prospects who will have an opportunity to make an Opening Day roster in 2015, if all goes as planned, and spend the entire season in the major leagues.

Here’s a look at five prospects who could win a position battle in spring training.

Anthony DeSclafani, RHP, Cincinnati Reds

Position Battle: Reds' No. 5 starter

Anthony DeSclafani reached the major leagues last season with the Marlins, but the club’s win-now approach saw the 24-year-old traded to the Reds in the Mat Latos deal.

DeSclafani posted a 6.27 ERA in a short sample of 33 innings during his time with Miami. However, his strikeout and walk rates were consistent with those he posted between Double-A and Triple-A, and his 3.77 FIP suggested that his ugly ERA was mostly a result of bad luck. The right-hander also boosted his stock with an impressive showing in the Arizona Fall League, where he posted a 2.67 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 27 innings.

Ranked as the Reds’ No. 6 prospect for the 2015 season, DeSclafani has an arsenal of three average-or-better pitches, including a 93-94-mph running fastball that he uses to pound the bottom of the zone, generating both whiffs and weak contact. The 6’1” right-hander’s go-to secondary offering is a hard, low-to-mid-80s slider with good tilt, and he has a good feel for sequencing it in relation to his heater.

DeSclafani will contend for the final spot in the Reds’ Opening Day rotation, with David Holmberg, Jason Marquis, Dylan Axelrod and possibly Raisel Iglesias representing his competition.

Kendall Graveman, RHP, Oakland Athletics

Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images

Position Battle: A's No. 5 starter

Selected by the Blue Jays in the eighth round of the 2013 draft out of Mississippi State, Graveman raced through the minor leagues last season, making stops at each of the four full-season levels before appearing in five games with Toronto as a September call-up. After the season, the A’s acquired Graveman from Toronto in the Josh Donaldson trade.

Prior to working out of the Blue Jays bullpen, the 24-year-old made 27 starts across the Low-, High-, Double- and Triple-A levels, posting a 1.83 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 115-31 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 167.1 innings. He allowed only two home runs during that span and held opposing hitters to a .231 batting average.

A 6’2”, 195-pound right-hander, Graveman—who enters the season ranked as the A’s fifth-best prospect—works in the low 90s with his fastball and generates late sinking action with his extension toward the plate. He also throws a cutter that grades out similar to his heater and features hard slice to his glove side. He’s adept at pounding the zone with both pitches, commanding them to each side of the plate, and isn’t afraid to challenge opposing hitters. Graveman’s curveball has the potential to be an average offering but probably will be more toward fringe-average due to his arm action, while the right-hander’s changeup projects as average and plays nicely off his fastball and cutter.

Graveman’s strong command profile and ability to keep the ball on the ground make him a clean fit in the A’s rotation, and general manager Billy Beane has already stated that the 24-year-old has an “inside track” to making the Opening Day roster, per Jeremy F. Koo of AthleticsNation.com. The right-hander will compete for the final spot in the rotation with Jesse Chavez, who started 21 games for the A’s in 2014, and Sean Nolin, a 25-year-old left-hander who came over with Graveman from Toronto.

Taylor Featherston, INF, Los Angeles Angels

Position Battle: Angels' Utility/Bench

A fifth-round draft pick out of Texas Christian in 2011, Featherston spent the last four seasons moving at a level-per-year pace through the Rockies system before the Angels selected him in the Rule IV draft (via a trade with the Cubs).

Coming off a career-best offensive campaign in 2013 playing in the hitter-friendly High-A California League, Featherston, 25, proved his power was for real this year at Double-A Tulsa by setting career highs in doubles (33) and home runs (14) while once again achieving double digits in stolen bases (14). Plus, Featherston lowered his strikeout rate from the previous year by nearly 9 percent, and without sacrificing any power.

The Angels created infield depth after dealing Howie Kendrick by trading for Josh Rutledge, but general manager Jerry Dipoto views Featherston as a candidate for a bench job, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.

"We're excited to have him," Dipoto said. "He’ll come in and compete with Josh Rutledge and Grant Green and Alex Yarbrough for an opportunity to stick with our team, at a variety of different positions or one."

Featherston has the ideal profile for a utility infielder at the highest level, as he’s logged significant time at shortstop (113 games), second (242 games) and third base (18 games) over four minor league seasons. In general, he is a sound defender with a solid glove, average range and above-average arm strength, and his tools tend to play up thanks to his strong instincts.

Alex Colome, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays

Position Battle: Rays’ No. 5 starter

Alex Colome was expected to get his first extended audition in the major leagues in 2014, but a 50-game suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs delayed the start of his season until late May and surely cost the 26-year-old many opportunities to land a role in the Rays rotation or bullpen. He did return to the major leagues and ultimately pitched 23.2 innings, but three of his five appearances on the year came after rosters expanded in September.

When healthy, Colome boasts a low-to-mid-90s fastball that has late life and digs on the hands of righties, and he also throws a good cutter in the low 90s with late slicing action. The right-hander’s second arsenal includes a curveball with above-average potential and a changeup that’s effective when sequenced off his fastball or cutter, but his command of both pitches is inconsistent and limits his overall potential as a starter.

With Colome, it all comes down to whether he can stay on the field. The 26-year-old right-hander missed significant time with injuries in both 2012 and 2013, respectively, and he’s logged more than 120 innings in a season just twice in his eight-year career. Still, the 26-year-old appears to be the leading candidate to take over as the Rays’ No. 5 starter in 2015, as he possesses more upside and stuff than Nate Karns or Burch Smith.

Mark Canha, 1B/OF, Oakland Athletics

Position Battle: A's Bench 

A seventh-round draft pick of the Marlins in 2010, Mark Canha has shown an intriguing combination of hit-tool and power potential during his steady climb through the minor leagues. In 2014, the 26-year-old enjoyed arguably the best offensive campaign of his professional career, batting .303/.384/.505 with 20 home runs, 28 doubles and 82 RBI in 127 games for Triple-A New Orleans. Canha also proved to be a versatile defender too, as he saw significant playing time at first base (40 games), third base (18 games) and left field (61 games).

The Rockies traded Canha to the A’s after selecting him in the Rule IV draft (from the Marlins’ system), and he’ll now have to stick on Oakland’s active roster for all of 2015 if they want to keep him. The A’s have had previous success in the Rule IV draft—most recently with Nate Freiman—and they may have found a cheap source of power in Canha.

However, Canha is still going to face competition for a corner infield/outfield role with the A’s, as he’ll go up against Freiman and possibly Rangel Ravelo in spring training, while Ike Davis is projected as the team’s Opening Day first baseman.

It’s hard to imagine the A’s targeted the 26-year-old Canha without a specific role in mind. Therefore, that notion, along with his defensive versatility, should ultimately give him over the edge Freiman.