2012 Outlook: Philadelphia Phillies

Heading into the 2011 season many people penciled in the Phillies as the world series winners. They had a rotation that was straight out of a video game, three of their starters could have been aces on any team in baseball. As a result they had arguably the game's best rotation. Their offense was good as well, ranking in the upper half of the league.

2012 Outlook: Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers are coming off of a first place finish where they won 96 total games. They had one of the best offenses in baseball, but the loss of Prince Fielder to the Detroit Tigers really hurt. They also had one of the better pitching staffs in the league, but Zack Greinke is a free agent at the end of the season so the Brewers will have to sign him to a big deal.

2012 Outlook: Detroit Tigers

The Tigers are coming off one of their better seasons, winning 95 games and making it to post-season play. Their offense and pitching were above league average, but not quite good enough to go far in the playoffs. The pitching was headlined by MVP and Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, while the offense was headlined by Miguel Cabrera.

2012 Outlook: Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays are coming off a season where they made the postseason on the final day of the regular season, capping off the greatest final day in baseball history. Offensively they were one of the best teams in the league, Matt Joyce and Evan Longoria were both big parts to the teams' success. The pitching was middle of the pack, but it could be one of the best in the league this season.

2012 Outlook: St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are coming off of a season where the won the world series, unfortunately they also lost one of the best players off all-time to free agency. Their offense was one of the best in all of baseball, and was led by Albert Pujols, but since he's gone Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman will be the offensive leaders. With the loss of Adam Wainwright in spring training their pitching was middle of the pack.

2012 Outlook: San Francisco Giants

After winning the 2010 world series the Giants had high hopes of returning to the playoffs, in hopes of another title run. Unfortunately they didn't even make the playoffs. They were had a strong pitching staff, led by Tim Lincecum. The offense was towards the lower half of the league, but with Buster Posey returning, they should get more run production.

2012 Outlook: Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers are coming off a season where they went 82-79, having a slightly above average season. Their offense was slightly above average and was led by Matt Kemp's 8.7 WAR. The Pitching was led by cy young winner Clayton Kershaw and his 2.47 FIP. The Diamondbacks and Giants are the two teams who will be competing for the division, so it'll be hard for the Dodgers can compete unless they get some luck.

2012 Outlook: Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals are coming off the best season of their existence, going 80-81. Their pitching wasn't great, it ranked towards the bottom half of the league, and their offense was middle of the pack as well. Jordan Zimmermann  was the best pitcher for the Nationals, and on the offensive side Michael Morse and Danny Espinosa were the leaders. The Nationals made some significant additions this off-season though, so they should be much better.

2012 Outlook: Chicago White Sox

The White Sox are coming off of a disappointing 79-83 season. Their pitching staff was one of the best in all of baseball, but their offense was one of the worst. All of the White Sox starting pitchers had at least 2.5 WAR. On the offensive side new comer Adam Dunn was expected to give the White Sox a huge boost on offense. Unfortunately, he did just the opposite.

2012 Outlook: New York Mets

The 2012 New York Mets are coming off a year where they struggled quite a bit, particularily in the pitching department. Offensively they had a pretty good year, but their top offensive player Jose Reyes signed a  contract with division rival Miami Marlins. They also traded outfielder Carlos Beltran to the San Francisco Giants for pitching prospect Zach Wheeler. If they hope to produce offensively this year, they will need third baseman David Wright to step up.

2012 Outlook: Colorado Rockies

The Rockies are coming off a disappointing seasons where they only won 72 games. In terms of offense and pitching they were in the middle of the pack. Troy Tulowitzki is coming off one of his best seasons as a pro, and Carlos Gonzalez was impactful as well. The Rockies traded starting pitcher Ubaldo Jiminez got traded halfway through the year for some top minor league arms.

2012 Outlook: Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates are coming off of another disappointing season. Their pitching was horrendous for the most part, but offensively they had a player develop into a star. This season could finally be a step in the right direction, top pick SP Gerrit Cole isn't to far away and SP Jameson Tallion could be joining him as well.

2012 Outlook: Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are coming off of another disappointing season where they failed to make the playoffs. Offensively they got good production, but struggled mightily with their plate discipline. Their pitching as a staff was fairly decent, but their rotation faced a few problems. During the off-season they got former Red Sox General Manager, Theo Epstein. Epstein will take over as President of Baseball Operations. Former Padres GM Jed Hoyer also joined the Cubs at the same position. The Cubs didn't stop there. Hoyer went out and  traded for first baseman Anthony Rizzo. If everything goes right, Rizzo will be the Cubs first  baseman of the future.

2012 Season Outlook: Baltimore Orioles

This past season turned out like every other season for the past decade for the Baltimore Orioles. They finished in last place in the AL East, and for now things aren't looking up. Their hitting was average but their pitching was absolutely terrible.

Weekly Prospect: Travis d'Arnaud

Travis d'Arnaud came over to the Blue Jays in the trade that sent Roy Halladay to the Phillies. Last year he had an OK season in A+ ball but this year in AA he's really starting to take off.

d'Arnaud is posting a very solid .232 ISO, he's always had solid power but this year it's really starting to come on. His .393 OBP is above and beyond what one would ask out of him, as is his .420 wOBA. He could improve his eye at the plate, his BB% is 7.9%. If he could bring it up 2% or so that'd be ideal. His 20.4% K% isn't awful as long as he still supplies power. d'Aranaud's 161 wRC+ is 61% better then his league's average, a crazy number that probably isn't sustainable. It's no secret that he's had help based off his .383 BABIP so regression to the mean is definitely expected.

d'Arnaud is only 22 so he has a little more room for improvement but at the pace he's at he could potentially see time on the big league club in 2012 and if everything goes right he should be the starting catcher in 2013.