MLB Team Previews: Introducing the 2014 Fantasy Baseball 30-for-30

The best way to get a handle on everything that has happened in baseball over the past offseason is to check out MLB Team Previews, so we gathered 30 Fantasy Baseball writers from 30 different Fantasy sites to chip in one team apiece.

As you might know, I consider the Fantasy Baseball industry to be one of the friendliest in the world. It truly is a happy community that’s willing to help out with any project you have going – and this was no different. The Fantasy Football industry, by comparison, is much grumpier/selfish/suspicious/greedy. There are great, friendly sites in the Fantasy Football world, too, but you’ll usually find that they have a face in the Fantasy Baseball world, too.

I sent out a tweet on Saturday, and by Monday, I had about 80 percent of the writers lined up. Many sites offered up more than one writer, but we wanted to keep it just one writer per site, so that we could showcase 30 different sites equally.

MLB Team Previews Template

I created a template (by that, I mean, I essentially stole the template from FantasyTrade411.com with their permission) for each of the writers to use as a general guideline for their previews. Most importantly, these previews are all written from a Fantasy perspective, so don’t expect to see which team has a chance at their divisional crown.

Each article will have the following features:

Introduction

A quick explanation of what this team’s Fantasy prospects are, based on what happened to them last year and in the offseason.

Projected Go-To Lineup & Projected Pitchers

This is where you’ll see where players are projected to hit/pitch, and should make for quick reference through the spring. These lineups, rotations and bullpens will be culled from the guys at MLB Depth Charts, who post on Baseball Prospectus.

Fantasy Stud(s)

Which players are the obvious Fantasy superstars who we can expect to be drafted in the early rounds?

Breakout Candidate(s)

Which players have a chance to go from late- or middle-round picks up to early round picks in 2015? That would indicate they’re in for a much better season than many expect.

Sleeper Candidate(s)

Which players have a chance to go from late-round picks, or going undrafted, up to middle-round picks in 2015? This means they had a very good season in 2014 and are officially on our radar going into next year.

Bust Candidate(s)

There might be some players that are expected to be early or middle-rounders that have a realistic chance of stinking it up in 2014. This could be because of injuries, misjudged talent or any other factors.

Top Rookie(s)

Which youngsters are players we need to know about for the upcoming season? There might even be a few we need to know for future seasons, so it doesn’t hurt to know about them now. But for the most part, this will be about players expected to produce in 2014.

What Should We Know?

This will just be an interesting point or two about this team that the writer really wants us to know about. It could be a great stat, something about the stadium they play in, etc.

Site/Writer Bio

This is a chance for the writer to explain what their Fantasy Baseball site is all about and it allows them the opportunity to tell you about themselves, as well. What’s their background, and what makes them someone worth listening to?

2014 MLB Team Previews Schedule

We already started to roll out these Fantasy Baseball MLB Team Previews, starting on Jan. 22, but starting Jan. 27, we’ll post two teams each day. The AL and NL East will start us off, with the Central divisions right behind and the AL and NL West coming in last. All of them should be posted by the middle of February, just in time for when catchers and pitchers report to camp.

There are actually a couple spots left if you’re a Fantasy Baseball writer on a site that’s not represented here, so shoot me a note to let me know – either through the site or through Twitter @DavidGonos.

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We hope you enjoy these MLB Team Previews as much as all of these writers enjoyed writing them, and we hope you check out all of these sites. Hopefully, you found a couple that you hadn’t seen before, and become a regular reader. I’m sure you’ll see many of these guys in future mock drafts, etc., so keep an eye out.