Custom Card of the Day: Stanton Edition

We may be looking at a superstar here. In the past five seasons, Giancarlo Stanton has gone from a speedy little outfield prospect to one of the best pure hitters in baseball, racking up a ton of home runs, and becoming the unabashed star of the Marlins. Hell, he's become so good that the Marlins have built that team around him.

This season, the team got people like Dee Gordon, Martin Prado and Dan Haren, to beef up a roster that had been slowly growing as the decade went on. People like Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna have become fixtures on this team, alongside Stanton.

Now, people are saying that this could be a huge year for the Marlins. The only problem with this is that everybody but the Mets, really, have had a nice start. The Braves are up by five, somehow, and the other teams are just...sort of behind them. Even the Phillies are doing well. So, what could have been a clear-cut year may be a bit foggy. The Marlins will need to work for the long run, and maybe try to outlast some of those early-season dynasties.

And hopefully, Giancarlo Stanton will have another monstrous season, and possibly take home an MVP.

Coming Tonight (?)- Robinson Cano is gonna have to fight hard to get the starting All Star nod this year, and you can thank this guy, who's become one of the most fun players in the AL recently.

Custom Card of the Day: Pederson Edition

Last year, the Los Angeles Dodgers had five outfielders. All five of them were really good. Not too many teams can say that. Hell, the best outfielder on that team might have been the one that everyone had counted out at the beginning, Carl Crawford. But Crawford, Yasiel Puig, Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp and Scott Van Slyke were all important parts of the Dodgers.

Then, a week before the season ended, they let in one more. Joc Pederson.

When the season ended, the combination of Puig-Crawford-Ethier/Kemp was so strong that I was worried that someone as promising as Pederson would get traded. However, in his few games last season, he showed enough promise to stay on the roster, and be promoted to a starter. Matt Kemp was the one that left.

So, now the guy I was worried for is now one of the stronger pieces in LA. I love the fact that a lot of these guys are having a great start. Puig, Adrian Gonzalez, Brandon McCarthy, Rollins, Kendrick, and Pederson. If these guys keep playing really well, the Dodgers could actually go the distance. I'd love for that to happen.

I just hope Joc Pederson proves to be more than a prospect, and plays like he's been playing the last few games.

Coming Tomorrow- If it hadn't been for Kershaw, this guy would have definitely been the MVP last year. This year, he's back in full force, and his team might be pretty good this year.

Custom Card of the Day: Norris Edition

Derek Norris can swim through land.

Derek Norris can speak braille.

Behind Derek Norris' beard, there is no chin; there is only another fist.

Derek Norris doesn't get wet. The water gets Derek Norris.

Superman wears Derek Norris underwear.

The Padres didn't trade for Derek Norris. Derek Norris traded for the Padres.

Derek Norris can catch fastballs without a mitt. He only uses one because he enjoys punishing leather.

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In all seriousness, I really enjoy Derek Norris, and I like how he plays the game. I also appreciate his facial hair. He has that sort of je no sais badass about him.

Coming Tonight (?): He's the big LA rookie that everyone's talking about.

Custom Card of the Day: Price Edition

I have to admit that I was worried.

Last season, I was a bit concerned for David Price. He's had a ton of great seasons, and he's probably gonna go down as a Tampa Bay legend. But...after his first few games as a Tiger, I was worried he'd lost his stuff in the transaction. I was worried that he wouldn't get back up to the numbers he had back in 2012, or any of his huge seasons.

But then...we made it to 2015...and the old David Price returned, and started killing batters again.

This might be because he's out of my division, but I've gained a lot of respect for David Price. Right now he's pitching for a team who's lost their two best arms, one to injury and the other to Washington.  This could be a no-win situation, and here he is pitching some of the best stuff of his career, and making the Tigers relevant again. I'm very impressed with his stuff the past week. However, the past week is the past week--there's still a season to get to through all of this.

I think Price is gonna do great this year, possibly better than Verlander.

Coming Tomorrow- Last year, this guy went from being a nobody to being one of the most fun catchers in the AL...to being traded to the most prospering team in baseball.

Custom Card of the Day: Jones Edition

I could not be happier that Adam Jones has grown into a leadership role in Baltimore. I loved him when he came up, I loved him when he got all those All Star nods, and I still adore him. He's a great player, and he has the right attitude towards the game.

Part of me really wants the Orioles to well this year, even if I'm a Yankee fan. Something about the Royals-Orioles ALCS last year made me really pine for more underdog match ups. Plus, the Orioles have a nice team this year; with the exception of Nelson Cruz, all of the really big pieces stuck around, and they're all really good pieces.

Again, this lineup puts a lot of pressure on people like Chris Davis, and Jones, to hit consistently well, because not a ton of hitters are around, save for Delmon Young on a semi-regular basis. If they can master this, they'll have a nice season.

Coming Tomorrow- Last year he was the best pitcher in Tampa. Now he's the best pitcher in Detroit.

Custom Card of the Day: Lawrie Edition

The Athletics didn't...necessarily...NEED to swap their third baseman over to Toronto. Going into the offseason, i don't think that was a priority. It's not like they went in and said 'you know that third baseman we have that's one of the best players on the team? Let's trade him and get another third baseman." Like, that rarely works.

Okay, maybe it went alright when the Yankees traded Yangervis Solarte for Chase Headley.

...And I guess it went alright when the Blue Jays swapped Troy Glaus for Scott Rolen.

Okay, maybe it's a bit more common than I prefaced this post with. Bottom line- I didn't see the deal coming. I thought it would have been wiser for the A's to hold onto Donaldson, as he's, you know, THE BEST PLAYER ON THE TEAM. But, they sent him to Toronto for Brett Lawrie, which isn't as bad as, say, trading for Dioner Navarro or Josh Thole or something shitty like that.

Sorry, tangent. Where was I?

Brett Lawrie. Right. Brett Lawrie's really good.

Matter of fact, in the last few games, Lawrie has had some nice hits and has proved that he can definitely stick around, and hit for power. Lawrie, outside of his rookie season, didn't do a whole hell of a lot for the Jays. He was a good third baseman, and he hit, but he was overshadowed by Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion and all of the other massive hitters on the team.

Now that he's in Oakland, there's a wider range. The hitters on this squad are either injured (see Crisp, Coco) or dormant (see Reddick, Josh). Lawrie can roll out some nice numbers and make a name for himself, which is kind of perfect. On the flip side, Josh Donaldson might not have a great year, as his roster is still pretty crowded.

I'm expecting Brett Lawrie to have a nice year, even if the A's don't.

Coming Tomorrow- The unofficial leader of a surprisingly-durable Orioles squad.

Custom Card of the Opening Day: Sandoval Edition

Well, it's finally that time of year. It's time for the Phillies to be trounced by a generally good team. I mean, that generally happens on Opening Day, doesn't it?

I'll give the Red Sox a ton of credit for what they did during the offseason. They took a depleted rotation and turned it into a very nice assortment of young arms, including Wade Miley and Rick Porcello. They took an aging infield and...wait, it's still aging, but Panda and HanRam are there anyway.

I mean, it's a risky move, filling the roster with a ton of contracts. The Padres are gonna likely find out that it's not always the best idea. The Red Sox did a lot less roster-packing than the Padres did. Like, they still kept the heart and soul of their team intact. People like Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz are still sticking around, and will be for a little while longer. That may be why the Padres' deal-a-palooza may fail in the end, because the team had no central heart or leader to base around, and all of these additions are going to crowd the cell instead of supporting the nucleus.

But back to the Red Sox.

I have no idea how Pablo Sandoval in Boston is going to work. It's a clever idea, but the execution is going to be critical. He was an up-and-down player in SanFran who only flourished whenever he landed in the postseason, which, thankfully, was quite often. The result is gonna be interesting to say the least, and Sandoval may in fact end up being another Mo Vaughn. But, again, this is the beginning of the season, and all we know at this point is that the 2015 Championship Parade won't be happening in Philadelphia or Atlanta.

Coming Tomorrow- The A's are trying to rebuild, and their new third baseman is going to try to help with this.