A couple of weeks ago Buster Olney took a look at linchpin players for several teams across baseball. Not the players that are essential to their team’s success during the upcoming season, but players who “are positioned to make a major difference” for their respective club.
Olney pointed to Justin Verlander (Tigers), Yasiel Puig (Dodgers), Anthony Rendon (Nationals), Marcus Stroman (Blue Jays), Carlos Santana (Indians), Randal Grichuk (Cardinals), Michael Pineda (Yankees), Andrew Heaney (Angels), Miguel Sano (Twins), Prince Fielder (Rangers), Hisashi Iwakuma (Mariners), Noah Syndergaard (Mets), Johnny Cueto (Giants) and Yasmany Tomas (Diamondbacks) being the linchpins for their teams.