Who Will Be the Surprise Teams This MLB Season?

Spring Trianing is the one moment of the year that fans, players and managers alike will enter the season with optimism. Well unless you are a fan of the Baltimore Orioles, then you will have to take solace in the fact that your team will be much better in 2010 because of the trades you have just made.

Despite the steroids controversy this was perhaps the busiest off-season in recent memory. Thus resulting in a general mood of optimism that is stretching to Tampa Bay for the first time in franchise history. Tampa also made another change this off-season as they changed their team name by taking the Devil out of Devil Rays.

The Rays will get my vote for the most improved team this year, as they have been stockpiling their farm system with #1 draft picks, and all of that talent is becoming Major League Ready. BJ Upton who was a defensive liablility at 2b last year will be moving to CF, and is perhaps the superstar the Devil Rays have been looking for. The team also will be hoping that 1B Carlos Pena's 2007 was no fluke as Pena came out of nowhere to hit 46 home runs last year for the Rays.

The biggest reason the 2007 team was not one of the league's most improved last season was because of their pitching. Their bullpen ranked as one of the worst bullpens in the Majors, and their starting rotation was a mess after Scott Kazmir and James Shields.

The Rays seemed to have solved that problem by trading OF Delmon Young for Matt Garza, and will perhaps get help from the minors during the 2nd half of the season if 1st round pick David Price is ready.

Another surprise team in 2008 I believe will be the Cincinnati Reds, the Reds have always had a surplus of OF's, and were able to field a quality lineup. They finally have shifted their emphasis towards pitching, and although the team still has plenty of holes, I feel like they can contend for a playoff berth in the weak NL Central.

Now I'm not suggesting the Reds will win 90 games by any means, but with so many games against Houston, St.Louis and Pittsburgh the Reds will have a chance to inflate their record. While the Reds battle those teams the NL West will be battling against each other, which may in the end cost the leagues best division the chance of representing the league in the Wild Card race.

If you have any predictions on surprise teams this season please feel free to post them here.