The Baseball Listicle Lineup for February 16-29, 2024

Issue #168

A little late getting this out this time… as it sat in my editing queue for some reason. But here is the latest edition of this regular feature here at Now Taking the Field—a roundup of my favorite recent baseball articles, many though not all in the form of “listicles”—articles framed around a list of some sort or other. I continue to focus this for now on articles by other Substack baseball authors, and articles directly from MLB.com itself.

Here are my favorite articles for the weeks February 16-29, 2024, starting with articles written by other baseball-focused Substack authors:

• It's Nice to Have Options, by at 2/29/2024

• No. 30: Colorado Rockies, by at 2/29/2024

• Prospect Debate: James Wood vs. Dylan Crews, by at 2/29/2024

• Who Is the Best Prospect in MLB Right Now?, by Benjamin Chase at 2/26/2024

• 5 Baseball Cards that Force You to Collect, at 2/25/2024

• Rob Manfred’s Reign of Error Should End Now by and Free Agency Looms For A Dozen Dynamite Pitchers by at 2/23/2024

• Royals With the Most to Gain This Spring, by at 2/22/2024

• A Retrospective of 2023 Top 50 Lists, by at 2/20/2024

• A Brief History of Bay Area MLB First Basemen, by Rich Campbell at 2/19/2024

• 5 Founding Members of the John Mayberry Club, at 2/18/2024

Beyond Substack, these were my favorite articles from the writers at MLB.com these past two weeks:

• 10 breakout candidates ready to make the leap this season, by MLB.com writers, 2/29/2024

• 1 prospect from each team who can light up the radar gun, by Jim Callis, Sam Dykstra, and Jonathan Mayo, 2/29/2024

• The teams projected to dominate defensively this year, by Mike Petriello, 2/29/2024

• Which prospects will hit the most homers in ‘24?, by Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis, 2/28/2024

• Fantasy baseball's top starting pitchers are ..., by Brian Murphy, 2/28/2024

• The top fantasy relief pitchers entering the '24 season, by Manny Randhawa, 2/28/2024

• 1 dark horse candidate to make each Opening Day roster, by Theo DeRosa, 2/25/2024

• MLB's HR leader in 2024? 10 sluggers with a case, by MLB.com writers, 2/23/2024

• X-factors for 10 teams that missed playoffs in 2023, by Thomas Harrigan, 2/23/2024

• The must-watch player in every division this season, by Will Leitch, 2/22/2024

• Top power-hitting prospects -- one from each team, by Jim Callis, Sam Dykstra, and Jonathan Mayo, 2/21/2024

• 5 favorites and 5 dark horses to lead the way in K's, by MLB.com writers, 2/21/2024

• How 10 teams can defy their playoff odds in '24, by Thomas Harrigan, 2/19/2024

• Predicting this year's stolen base leader, by MLB.com writers, 2/18/2024

• The player on each team with the most to prove in Spring Training, by Manny Randhawa, 2/18/2024

• Identifying the nastiest pitch for every team, by David Adler, 2/17/2024

• Who will lead MLB in saves in '24? Here are favorites and dark horses, by MLB.com writers, 2/17/2024

• Next offseason's best free agent at each position, by Anthony Castrovince, 2/17/2024

• Adley the new king of fantasy catchers, by David Adler, 2/17/2024

• 16 notable names battling for big league jobs as non-roster invitees, by Brian Murphy, 2/16/2024

• Who will win a batting title in '24? 10 players who stand out, by MLB.com writers, 2/16/2024

Did you know? I wrote a book with the same title as this Substack newsletter / blog: Now Taking the Field: Baseball’s All-Time Dream Teams for All 30 Franchises. It was published in early 2019, by ACTA Sports, the publisher of the annual Bill James Handbook and other popular titles. You can learn more about it at www.NowTakingTheField.com, or buy directly at Amazon and other booksellers.