Here it is people: baseball season. Home runs, strikeouts, the summer air and the great atmosphere at the ballpark. Can you feel it? Probably not because it’s still February, but Spring Training begins within the next few days.
The Cactus League and the Grapefruit League will kick off on Valentine’s Day. Sixteen teams (pitchers and catchers) will report to Spring Training. The Chicago Cubs, who are the defending World Series champions, will kick off their quest to win back-to-back championships on February 15th in the Cactus League. The runners-up to the championship, the Cleveland Indians, will report on the 14th.
2017 Spring Training Schedule
Cactus League (Arizona)
*Pitchers and catchers report dates are on the left, full squad dates are on the right
Arizona Diamondbacks: Tuesday, Feb. 14 | Thursday, Feb. 17
Chicago Cubs: Wednesday, Feb. 15 | Saturday, Feb. 18
Chicago White Sox: Tuesday, Feb. 14 | Saturday, Feb 18
Cincinnati Reds: Tuesday, Feb. 14 | Friday, Feb. 17
Cleveland Indians: Tuesday, Feb. 14 | Saturday, Feb 18
Colorado Rockies: Tuesday, Feb. 14 | Monday, Feb. 20
Kansas City Royals: Wednesday, Feb. 15 | Saturday, Feb. 18
Los Angeles Angels: Wednesday, Feb. 15 | Saturday, Feb. 18
Los Angeles Dodgers: Thursday, Feb. 16 | Tuesday, Feb. 21
Milwaukee Brewers: Wednesday, Feb. 15 | Saturday, Feb. 18
Oakland A’s: Wednesday, Feb. 15 | Sunday, Feb. 19
San Diego Padres: Wednesday, Feb. 15 | Saturday, Feb. 18
San Francisco Giants: Tuesday, Feb. 14 | Friday, Feb. 17
Seattle Mariners: Wednesday, Feb. 15 | Sunday, Feb. 19
Texas Rangers: Wednesday, Feb. 15 | Tuesday, Feb. 21
Grapefruit League (Florida)
Atlanta Braves: Wednesday, Feb. 15 | Saturday, Feb. 18
Baltimore Orioles: Tuesday, Feb. 14 | Friday, Feb. 17
Boston Red Sox: Tuesday, Feb. 14 | Friday, Feb. 17
Detroit Tigers: Tuesday, Feb. 14 | Saturday, Feb. 18
Houston Astros: Wednesday, Feb. 15 | Saturday, Feb. 18
Miami Marlins: Tuesday, Feb. 14 | Friday, Feb. 17
Minnesota Twins: Tuesday, Feb. 14 | Saturday, Feb. 18
New York Mets: Tuesday, Feb. 14 | Sunday, Feb. 19
New York Yankees: Wednesday, Feb. 15 | Sunday, Feb. 19
Philadelphia Phillies: Tuesday, Feb. 14 | Friday, Feb. 17
Pittsburgh Pirates: Tuesday, Feb. 14 | Friday, Feb. 17
St. Louis Cardinals: Tuesday, Feb. 14 | Friday, Feb. 17
Tampa Bay Rays: Tuesday, Feb. 14 | Sunday, Feb. 19
Toronto Blue Jays: Wednesday, Feb. 15 | Saturday, Feb. 18
Washington Nationals: Thursday, Feb. 16 | Sunday, Feb. 19
Two Teams to Watch
Will there be any teams that step up to the plate? According to the PECOTA projections, the Houston Astros will be the surprise team of the American League. They are currently projected to have a record of 94-68. They have added three key players in OF Josh Reddick, RHP Will Harris and C Brian McCann.
On the National League side, the Los Angeles Dodgers are projected to go 99-63. During the offseason Los Angeles acquired 1B/OF Darin Ruf from the Philadelphia Phillies, as well as OF Brett Eibner from Oakland Athletics, LHP Vidal Nuno from Seattle Mariners, and lastly 2B Logan Forsythe from the Tampa Bay Rays.
Will one of these two teams unseat the Cubs? We shall see.