Cy Young candidate Zambrano anchors the rotation, with Wood looking to rebound from a so-so year, and Maddux trying to continue his 15-win season streak. Prior returns from injury to join Glendon Rusch on the staff.

This arrangement could vary greatly, depending on the success (or lack thereof) of the Ryan Dempster experiment at closer. All five of the men in middle relief could close, if need be. Leicester and Novoa are particularly good-looking young prospects. Todd Wellemeyer leads a group of hopefuls looking to crack the pen and head north.

This may not last even through the spring, but Dempster is the man on whom Baker is pinning his hopes at present. Dempster was once a prime prospect in the Marlins organization, but arm troubles have derailed his progress. The Cubs hope he has passed by those problems.

This is a pretty solid infield, and looks to be made even stronger by the addition of Garciaparra for a full season. Ramirez is turning into an elite-level player, and hopes to become paid as such. Lee and Walker provide a solid right side of the infield, while Barrett enjoyed a career renaissance in 2004.

Hairston, who came over in the Sosa trade, joins Coors-inflated Burnitz and rising star Patterson in the Cubs outfield. Burnitz should enjoy the friendly confines of Wrigley, and the Cubs outfield should enjoy the added athleticism over the Alou/Patterson/Sosa formation of 2004.

A traditional Cub weakness again rears its ugly head, as Blanco will again be Maddux's personal caddy, while overall depth here is possibly the weakest in the division.

Mitre impressed in a brief 2004 audition at the big-league level, and could easily step in as an injury (or trade) replacement. Lewis and Cedeno are high-grade infield prospects that are both in the major league camp. Prospects such as Bobby Brownlie also await their chances in the Cubs system.

The rotation gains a little bit of depth with the additions of Ortiz and Milton, but still needs some help in the back end. Hancock is a former top Phillie prospect, while Harang, a former A's prospect himself, showed promise in 2004.

Hudson could start here, as he enjoyed success doing that last year. Mercker returns to Cincinnati, flanked by former #1 pick Wagner, and imports Weber and Weathers.

Graves returned to the closer role after an unremarkable year as a starter, and enjoyed solid success at the end of games for the Reds. He will again fill that role in 2005.

Jimenez finally lived up to the hype he enjoyed as a prospect in the San Diego system, while Lopez could not live up to the same hype he received in the Blue Jay organization. As such, Rich Aurilia has been brought in to challenge Lopez, and could very well take the job.

If Griffey can finally find a year where he stays healthy throughout, this could be a very formidable outfield on the field, as well as on paper. Austin Kearns will apparently be unable to crack this group, and he will provide bench depth until/unless he is traded.

The bench depth is not half-bad in Cincinnati, as Freel and Kearns particularly should still see a lot of field time. The battle between Machado and Olmedo for a backup infield job should be mildly intriguing.

Pettitte is returning from injury to help form the dangerous top three in the rotation that the Astros envisioned for 2004. The difference this year is that they have found a solid fourth starter in Backe.

The Astros had quite a find in Qualls, who was a star late in the season. Franco comes over from the Mets to join former A's reliever Chad Harville and the other usual suspects.

Lidge stepped in for Octavio Dotel after he was dealt to the A's, and did a phenomenal job. Lidge throws an excellent slider to go along with his upper-90s heat.

The light-hitting Ausmus anchors the infield, joined by (among others) rookie Chris Burke, who has the unenviable task of replacing Jeff Kent, who left for Los Angeles.

Lane gets first crack at taking over for Carlos Beltran in the outfield, but will be pushed hard by super-prospect Willy Taveras. Biggio and Berkman are fixtures — the only question is Berkman's ability to recover from injury.

Lamb had a resurgent year in 2004, and will be the first option off the bench. Vizcaino and Palmeiro are solid veteran options, and should also see a decent amount of time.

Taveras and Burke should make the trip to Houston with the big club this spring, and Buchholz will not be far behind. He is a solid righthander who came over from the Phillies in the Billy Wagner trade.

Sheets and Davis are capable at the top of the rotation, but Obermueller and the like at the bottom need to be more effective. Chris Capuano could also crack the rotation, among others.

There are a myriad of other names that could wind up in the pen, but these are the most likely. Kieschnick should be assured of a spot because of his versatility.

The flamethrowing righthander will likely get a shot at closing games after coming over in the Kolb trade. He was routinely clocked at 100 mph in the minors, and his decent breaking stuff will only help his cause.

Miller comes over to provide veteran leadership behind the plate, where it will be sorely needed. Rookie hotshot Hardy looks to take over at short.

Lee immediately gives the Brewers a potent bat in the middle of the lineup to go along with Jenkins. Clark had a decent year in 2004, and will look to continue those ways.

Two of the top Brewer prospects band together with two journeyman veterans to form the Brewer bench. While not the deepest in the league, the Brewers' bench should get a few well-placed hits.

The Brewers have a loaded farm system as a result of several trades and good drafts. Once these young kids all reach the majors, they should be truly frightening to watch.

The Pirate rotation will be loaded with lefthanders, which should bode well against some of the lefties and switch-hitters in the NL Central. Redman is an average starter on most teams, but will likely be the #2 guy on the banks of the Three Rivers.

The rubber-armed Meadows and Torres will team with hot prospect Gonzalez and middling lefties Grabow and Johnston to round out the Pittsburgh pen.

The ageless wonder did it again. He recorded more saves than many more established pitchers on much more explosive teams. He may hang it up after this year and pass the reins on to Gonzalez, but expect another solid year from good ol' Joe Table.

217-year-old Santiago takes over for Kendall, with the only other appreciable change being Mackowiak taking over at third. If Mackowiak can hit for a better average, he would make a nice fit in the #2 spot in the batting order.

The addition of Lawton to this team gives them an added dimension of speed and power at the top of the lineup, and he should fit nicely in the third spot in the lineup. He and Wilson will man the corners, while Redman roams center.

The Pirate bench is likely the worst in the league, and, barring free agent signings or trades, will be loaded with kids.

The Pirates are loaded with young pitching, and were it not for injuries to both Van Benschoten and Burnett, they would likely be in the rotation. The main thing with which the Pirates need to concern themselves is finding a minor league program that will keep from blowing up young arms.

Mulder is a Cy Young-quality lefthander that adds even more depth to an already-good Cardinal rotation. This is one of the strongest areas of their team.

Myers replaces Steve Kline in an otherwise untouched bullpen. Randy Flores, Rick Ankiel, and Jimmy Journell could battle for a spot in the pen, as well.

Isringhausen is still one of the top three closers in the league, but is largely unheralded outside of the Midwest. Count on him for another 42-45 saves, barring injury.

This looks to be a great infield...but...I'm not sold on Grudzielanek as anything other than a pretty good second baseman, and Eckstein is a considerable downgrade from Renteria. Renteria was the glue in that infield, and losing him just may cost them 5-7 wins, if not more.

Second verse, same as the first...the 2004 outfield again returns to their familiar haunts. Look for Walker to have a pretty solid year if he can avoid the two letters that most haunt him (DL).

Luna had a nice rookie year, and looks to be a serviceable utility guy. Journeyman Diaz comes over to back up Molina, and could very well wind up catching a long stretch of games if Molina struggles or gets hurt.

Reyes had a wonderful season at AA Tennessee last year, but Wainwright (who came over in the Jason Marquis/Ray King deal) is by far the more big-league ready of the two. Wainwright is a tall, powerful righthander who was once the top pitching prospect in the Braves' system.