Evan Longoria is coming off a season of reduced value, having lost nearly a month of 2011 with an early-season oblique injury. He also failed to fully translate his skills into production. Can Longoria rebound in 2012?

Brandon Beachy (RHP, ATL) was more than just the latest talented young pitcher to surface in Atlanta over the past two decades. He became the rock in an otherwise fragile Braves starting rotation. But as with any rookie sensation, we're left to wonder if he can improve, sustain—or will he take a step back?

It looks like Carl Crawford (OF, BOS) will have to wait a bit to prove that his first season in Boston was a fluke. After arthroscopic wrist surgery in January, he’s likely to miss the first few weeks of the season. It's really no mystery why Crawford's 2011 performance dropped off.

Spring training questions about guys like Vernon Wells inspire us to poetic whimsy...

The Cardinals caught a lot of flack last off-season after signing the then 35-year-old Lance Berkman (1B/OF, STL) to play the OF. His durability and production had come into question after a down 2010, but Berkman stayed on the field (including 126 games in the OF) and proved the critics wrong.

Amid the high-profile influx of big name first basemen into the American League, Mark Teixeira (1B, NYY) has become somewhat of a forgotten man in the discussion of elite players at the position. It doesn't help matters that Teixeira is coming off two productive but uneven seasons.

In the coming weeks, we will be bombarded with news that a starting pitcher is working on a new pitch or is feeling the best he has felt in years. Most of this is noise. The better storylines to follow in spring training are the more subtle ones.

With outfielders, we find more value disparities than any other position. One clear rule emerges: others overvalue youth and undervalue reliability. Having so many more roster spots causes outfielders to fall if your leaguemates overvalue positional scarcity.

Hanley Ramirez (3B, MIA) would like to forget his 2011 season. A .243 BA with 10 HR and 45 RBI isn't exactly the kind of production we have grown to expect from Ramirez. So what can we expect in 2012?

Miguel Cabrera answered critics of his off-field behavior last season by earning his first batting title, producing yet another 30-100-.300+ season. Cabrera is being challenged to shift back to 3B, his primary position in the early years of his career before joining DET. Potential 3B eligibility would further enhance the perceived value of this perennial Triple Crown threat.

Those expecting big power numbers from Aaron Hill (2B, ARI) last year were sorely disappointed. The same player who connected for 36 HRs two seasons ago managed just eight homers in 520 ABs between Toronto and Arizona. Meanwhile, he stole as many bags as he did during the previous five years combined. His average has seen wild swings over the past few seasons, too.