Overhyped MLB Teams That Should Enjoy Spring Excitement While It Lasts

The first few weeks of spring training really are like nothing else that we experience over the course of a baseball season.

Still buzzing with the excitement generated by an offseason of activity, the delusions of grandeur that we have for our favorite teams once the regular season begins are still alive and kicking, with no on-field results to make us reconsider our expectations.

But in some cases that buzzing is caused by the hype machine, pumping out hyperbole and false narratives about teams that can make even the most level-headed, rational baseball fan become delusional.

While the number of teams that prove to be victims of the hype machine is sure to grow as the exhibition season plays out, two stand out from the pack as the best bets to fall short of living up to that hype once the regular season begins. 

Chicago Cubs

You'll have to forgive me for being the Biff to your Marty McFly, but much like the prediction of a Cubs victory over Miami in the 2015 World Series in "Back to the Future Part II," Anthony Rizzo's guarantee of a division title is flawed.

Morry Gash/Associated Press

If you're not excited about the future at Wrigley Field, you might be a zombie—for only the walking dead wouldn't be fired up about the additions of Jon Lester and Joe Maddon to an organization that is bursting at the seams with young talent on the rise.

Now it's true that going from worst-to-first isn't as outrageous a concept as it was, say, 30 years ago. Heck, the Cubs pulled it off in 2007 (along with the Arizona Diamondbacks), and three teams have done it since, most recently the 2013 Boston Red Sox.

But last I checked, the Cubs still play in the National League Central, quite possibly the most competitive division in baseball. Feel free to double-check, but I'm pretty sure that Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and St. Louis all still have MLB teams to call their own—and pretty good ones at that.

Unlike their division counterparts, the Cubs are a team that is relying heavily on unproven talent to consistently produce over a 162-game season far more than any of their division foes are.

Player	Position	Age	Career MLB At-Bats	Career OPS
Arismendy Alcantara	IF/OF	23	278	.621
Javier Baez	2B	22	213	.551
Kris Bryant	3B	23	Yet to debut	Yet to debut
Tommy La Stella	2B/3B	26	319	.644
Jorge Soler	RF	23	89	.903

Of that group, only Soler is assured a spot in the Opening Day lineup. But all of them are going to play large roles, and no matter who you plug in where, half of the team's starting infield—and a third of its lineup—heads into 2015 with minimal major league experience—if any at all.

We simply can't assume that all of them are going to produce—consistently—at the level that the Cubs would need them to in order to contend. As ESPN Chicago's Jesse Rogers noted in December, there's a lot of talent—and a lot of unknown—that comes with the team's offense.

Rogers goes on to call 2015 a "stepping-stone year" for the organization, and that's the perfect description for where expectations should be for Cubs fans who really don't want to hear "wait 'til next year" anymore.

Let the youngsters get their legs under them. Let Maddon get a feel for his team, a feel for who fits best in what role and who, ultimately, doesn't fit at all. Let Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have an offseason with Maddon's input into the construction of the roster.

And come back in 2016 expecting big things. For then, Rizzo and the rest of the Cubs will be able to deliver on their promises.

Toronto Blue Jays

USA TODAY Sports

There may not be a movie that predicts a World Series victory in Toronto this season, but the hype machine is out in full effect for the Blue Jays after a winter that saw them trade for Josh Donaldson and sign Russell Martin to the second-largest contract in team history.

But the Blue Jays have read this script before, and they know that winning the offseason doesn't guarantee regular-season success or a deep postseason run.

It was only two years ago when the Blue Jays added the likes of Mark Buehrle, R.A. Dickey and Jose Reyes to the mix, only to fall flat on their face when the regular season came around, finishing the year 14 games below .500 and in the basement of the AL East.

Injuries and a lack of depth have been an issue in Toronto since that trio arrived. Reyes and Brett Lawrie missed significant time in 2013, while injuries forced Lawrie and Edwin Encarnacion to the sidelines for weeks (and in Lawrie's case, months) last season.

So far, this year's version of the script reads just like its predecessors. Any doubters out there need only pay attention to the team's initial reaction to Michael Saunders' knee injury, per Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star:

"It tells you something that before the first day of full squad, Saunders was injured and the GM has already been on the phone seeking a replacement." That's Michael Saunders, owner of a .231 career batting average over parts of six major league seasons.

"Face it," Griffin writes, "if any one of the top five in the batting order, or one of the top two starting pitchers, should be lost to injury for a significant period, then GM Alex Anthopoulos and the Jays are in trouble."

While that sentiment would be true for a number of teams, it's a damning one in Toronto. Anthopoulos and the rest of the front office should know from past experience that injuries are going to happen, and it's imperative that you have capable reinforcements waiting in the wings.

The Blue Jays simply don't. Their best position prospects, with the exception of second baseman Devon Travis, are all years away from contributing. They could trade some of their young arms for short-term injury replacements, but they won't, for that pitching is far too valuable.

So enjoy the Blue Jays' success while you can, folks. Sooner or later, the injury bug is going to return and take a chunk out of their lineup—and Toronto will follow the script, tumbling in the standings to the point of no return.

Unless otherwise noted, all statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs.

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