MLB Fanbases with the Most to Be Excited About This Christmas
Merry Christmas to all of you loyal B/R readers!
As you're enjoying the opening of gifts this morning, there will likely be gear from your favorite MLB team underneath the wrapping paper. Representing your team is your duty as a fan, but some will sport their team's logo with a little more excitement than others.
Those fanbases are the ones we'll profile over the next few slides—the supporters that have the most to be excited about this Christmas.
Of course, teams like the Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox that hit home runs this offseason made their way onto the list. How can Arizona fans not get excited about its newly constructed starting rotation? Red Sox fans for the acquisitions of David Price and Craig Kimbrel? Cubs fans for the additions of Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist and John Lackey?
Those aren't the only fanbases that should be buzzing about the futures of their organizations, though. A young, exciting Minnesota Twins team is well ahead of schedule in terms of its rebuild, while the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies have made significant strides toward contending sooner than expected through trades for prospects.
Every team has different expectations, and the games still have to be played next season. Still, the following fanbases should be thrilled with the direction of their teams this Christmas.
Arizona Diamondbacks
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Diamondbacks fans, now is not the time to worry about if your team overpaid for Shelby Miller.
Instead, bask in the glow of one MLB's finest starting trios. Miller will join ace Zack Greinke and up-and-comer Patrick Corbin atop the Arizona rotation next season.
Greinke's presence alone is enough to get excited. The right-hander may have lost out on the National League Cy Young, but he's coming off a historic season in which he posted a 1.66 ERA in 32 starts. Throw in Miller, who finally packaged his front-line stuff into a 3.02 ERA last season, and runs will be hard to come by against Arizona's front-line starters.
But wait, there's more! Corbin has established himself as one of the top young left-handers in the National League. Last season, the 26-year-old struck out over eight per nine innings, walked less than two per nine innings and posted a 3.60 ERA.
There's no doubt that Arizona's 23rd-ranked rotation from 2015 will be vastly improved next season. Considering the Diamondbacks only parted with Ender Inciarte from an everyday lineup that ranked sixth in WAR, a National League West title isn't out of the question.
So, Arizona, worry about the ramifications of the Miller trade down the road. For now, there are not many teams in the National League entering 2016 with as much momentum as the Snakes.
Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies
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No, the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies won't make the playoffs in 2016.
But after finishing among the league's worst teams last season, the future couldn't look brighter for the two organizations.
Let's start in Philly since the club has suffered the longest. Over the last few seasons, former general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. finally began to deconstruct a roster of overpaid, over-the-hill players. In the process, the Phillies acquired a handful of notable prospects.
The key transaction involved sending ace Cole Hamels to Texas. In return, the Phillies received three top-100 prospects including right-hander Jack Thompson, outfielder Nick Williams and catcher Jorge Alfaro. When Matt Klentak took over for Amaro, he swapped closer Ken Giles for former No. 1 overall pick Mark Appel and flame-thrower Vincent Velasquez.
With elite shortstop prospect J.P. Crawford joining that farm system and youngsters Maikel Franco, Aaron Nola and Odubel Herrera already in the big leagues, Philadelphia is set up well to return to relevancy sooner rather than later.
Atlanta has undergone a similar renovation, albeit at a much quicker pace. Braves president of baseball operations John Hart and general manager John Coppolella wasted little time on the rebuilding process, trading proven stars like Jason Heyward, Craig Kimbrel, Justin Upton and Evan Gattis for prospects last winter.
After dealing Andrelton Simmons for top pitching prospect Sean Newcomb and Shelby Miller for a blow-away package that included the No. 1 overall pick from the 2015 draft in Dansby Swanson, Braves fans can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The Braves have six players in MLB.com's top 100, and 10 of the club's top 15 prospects were acquired via trade under the current regime.
There's still plenty of work to be done as far as developing those young players, but it's hard for the two National League East rivals not to be thrilled with the current direction of their organizations.
Boston Red Sox
3 of 5
It was no secret the Boston Red Sox were going to be players this offseason. Sitting on a treasure trove of prospects and with money to spend, new president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski wasn't going to watch Boston finish last in the American League East again in 2016.
Still, Dombrowski's moves this winter have positioned the Red Sox to seriously contend in 2016.
Boston's main area of concern entering the offseason was with its starting rotation. Red Sox starters finished the season ranked 24th in MLB in ERA while using 12 different starters.
Enter David Price. The veteran southpaw didn't come cheap, but he immediately gave the Boston rotation a much-needed face-lift. Price has put together his two best seasons over the last two years, including a 2.45 ERA campaign in 2015.
Dombrowski also felt the need to address his team's bullpen. Even with reliable closer Koji Uehera on the roster, Boston was always in the market for another late-inning option.
In that process, Boston added one of the best relief arms in MLB. Craig Kimbrel struck out over 36 percent of the batters he faced and posted a 2.45 ERA in 2015, and it was considered a bad year. Since 2011, no reliever has given his team more value.
With those two additions, Dombrowski gave the fanbase a much-needed jolt. Price and Kimbrel will join a team with a healthy dose of veterans—David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez—to go with a talented collection of youngsters—Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., Xander Bogaerts.
The games still have to be played, but the Red Sox don't look like they'll be cellar-dwellers again in 2016.
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Chicago Cubs
4 of 5
It still sounds weird to say, but life is good for Chicago Cubs fans entering 2016.
That would have been the case even before the club made significant moves in free agency. The Cubs have one of the most talented rosters in baseball and have those players under team control for years to come.
A position player core of Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Addison Russell is as talented as it gets. Add outfielder Jason Heyward and infielder Ben Zobrist to the mix, and the Cubs can make a case that they have the best everyday lineup in MLB.
But unlike other teams with elite offenses, the Cubs will also trot out one of the game's top rotations too. National League Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester and free-agent signee John Lackey give Chicago an incredibly tough trio of hurlers.
Cubs fans have waited for postseason glory for over 100 years. Last year's team gave the fanbase a taste, and the front office acted on those feelings by being overly aggressive in free agency. The window for the Cubs to win has arrived, and there won't be any time wasted.
Because of that strategy. the Cubs will enter 2016 as the favorites to win the National League Central and arguably the National League itself. After years of serving as a doormat, it's time for Cubs fans to embrace that role.
Minnesota Twins
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While plenty of teams overachieved in 2015, no performance was more surprising than that of the Minnesota Twins.
Expected to finish last in the American League Central, rookie manager Paul Molitor led the Twins to a second-place finish in the division. Minnesota missed the playoffs, but contending well into September was an incredible accomplishment itself.
MLB isn't a place for moral victories, and Twins fans will want more in 2016. Luckily, the organization is set up to win for years to come due an impressive group of young players at various levels.
A few of those youngsters planted their roots in the big leagues last season. Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario joined the likes of Brian Dozier, Joe Mauer and Trevor Plouffe to form a solid mix of youthful exuberance and dependable leadership.
The scary thing is that more reinforcements are on the way. Minnesota has six prospects in MLB.com's top 100, and that doesn't even include former top-100 hurlers in Alex Meyer and Kohl Stewart, the 2.01 ERA of Steven Gonsalves or the 31-homer season of Adam Brett Walker.
Not all prospects pan out, but the easiest way for small-market teams like the Twins to contend is to have multiple impact prospects hit the big leagues around the same time. When that happens for Minnesota over the next few seasons, just remember that the club is already well ahead of schedule.
Stats courtesy of FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.
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