By Jacob Becquey

With Opening Day just over a month away, Baseball is so close we can almost taste it. There’s some great storylines to watch this year: Will Kyle Tucker help the Dodgers three-peat? Will the Athletics be good? Will the Pirates make the playoffs? So many questions will be answered this year.

But for now, here’s 5 storylines to keep you interested until Opening Day:

#1: Will Konnor Griffin be the Pirates Opening Day SS?

For once, the Pirates seem to have put together a decent offseason, adding bats like Brandon Lowe and Marcel Ozuna. While more moves may have been necessary for the Bucs to contend for a wild card spot, their farm system looks promising.

Konnor Griffin is MLB’s number one prospect, possessing great field, arm, and power grades. Early offseason reports stated the Pirates are willing to give Griffin the starting job at Shortstop, but will he preform well enough to achieve this position? Spring Training will likely decide this.

#2: What will the Blue Jays Rotation look like?

The Blue Jays had a great offseason, particularly in the pitching department, signing Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce. These arms are great additions, but there are a lot of questions with this staff. For one, what role will World Series star Trey Yesavage have? Will Jose Berrios come back to form? Will Shane Bieber be back for Opening Day?

The Jays have a lot of talent to fuel a run back to the World Series, but unlike last year, pitching could be an advantage.

#3: Who will win the World Baseball Classic?

The World Baseball Classic is back after a climactic 2023 win by Japan, featuring an incredible Trout vs Ohtani at-bat. With some loaded rosters across the previously mentioned Japan, USA, and Dominican Republic, the tournament is open for a new champion.

But who will win it all? Is it the US with a monster rotation and tremendous star power? Will it be Japan with their well-rounded roster? Will the Dominican Republic climb to the top with their superpowered offense? Only time will tell.

#4: What will the Cardinals roster look like?

The Cardinals, in an homage to the Twins at last year’s trade deadline, gutted their roster, trading away prominent pieces like Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado, Wilson Contreras, and Brendon Donovan. With 4 major openings and a farm system with multiple top 100 prospects, the Cardinals are in for an interesting 2026.

Perhaps the biggest question lies at the feet of top prospect JJ Werherholt, who’s projected to make his major league debut in 2026. The 23-year-old Shortstop could slot in at 2nd to form a young middle-infield with Masyn Winn, but that would have to come with a great Speing Training performance. The Cards have the most interesting March of any MLB Team.

#5: Where will Max Scherzer end up?

Max Scherzer had some highs and lows with the Blue Jays in 2025: the lows included a 5 ERA in the regular season, while the highs consisted of 2 solid Game 7 starts in the Postseason. With Justin Verlander going back home and Clayton Kershaw retiring, a lot of questions surround Mad Max as the last of the big 3 modern HOF pitchers without a certain future.

Will Scherzer come back to the Jays as a playoff piece? Will the Yankees or Phillies use him as depth? Will the Cardinals or Nationals bring in some veteran leadership for their young cores? Scherzer remains an interesting player to watch this offseason, even if the future Hall-of-Famer hangs up his cleats.

What storylines are you paying attention to this Spring? Let us know on X, @Full_Count_Blog