Hudson and former closer Smoltz will anchor the rotation, with the resurgent Thomson, second-half wonder Hampton, and Ramirez (recovering from injury) rounding out the front five.

Vasquez, who came over in the Eli Marrero deal, will be counted on to join Reitsma and Gryboski in the late innings. White and Martin will be lefty specialists.

Kolb, obtained from Milwaukee for Jose Capellan, will replace John Smoltz here. An All-Star himself, Kolb will be the man to replace a legend in Atlanta.

LaRoche experienced a great deal of success as a rookie in 2004 — particularly in the second half — but will still split time with ageless wonder Franco. Giles, Furcal and Jones are all All-Star caliber infielders, and will round out a solid Braves infield in 2005.

The Braves turn to two reclamation projects to man the corner outfield spots and to be flanked by Andruw Jones. Jeff Francoeur and/or Ryan Langerhans could figure in here, depending on spring results.

The Braves appear to be slightly thin in terms of depth, but this will not haunt them unless they suffer a string of injuries.

Francoeur is a tall, rangy outfielder with good pop and a solid glove. Marte is a corner infielder with great range and hands and a powerful bat. Davies is the top pitching prospect in the Braves organization with the departure of LHP Dan Meyer in the Hudson trade.

This is not the likely order in which these starters will appear, but this is a relatively deep rotation. If Beckett and Willis can return to their rookie year form and not their current .500 form, they should help form a highly-formidable staff.

The additions of Jones, Mecir, and Riedling help to bolster a bullpen that will need to shorten the game to get to new closer Guillermo Mota.

Mota came over from the Dodgers late in the year in 2004, and possesses a solid arsenal of pitches from the closer role.

Delgado provides an elite left-handed bat to this infield, and makes an already-potent infield considerably more so.

This outfield is a perfect mix of speed (Pierre), power (Cabrera), and mediocrity (Encarnacion). Had the Marlins a better third outfielder, they could be a World Series contender.

Super-subs Easley and Conine team up with Rule 5 pick Dillon and one of the two Marlin catching prospects to form a reasonably solid bench.

Stokes is a big and powerful corner infielder. Willingham is a solid game manager behind the plate with the potential to have a decent bat. Aguila is a speedy outfielder with good instincts and a strong arm.

Martinez and Glavine form a nice 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation, but the remainder of the rotation is either pretty talented at being average (Trachsel), wild (Zambrano), or vastly overpaid (Benson).

This is a young staff that must be effective for the Mets to even have remote hopes of staying afloat in the East. Fortunato is a nice young arm, but the rest of the staff is mostly retreads.

Looper seemed to again find himself in the closer role in 2004, but he should not expect to see a whole lot of leads come his way late in games.

Mientkiewicz is the cornerstone of the infield, what with his defense and the World Champion ring he will be sporting later this spring. Reyes, Matsui and Wright are three impressive young prospects. Wright should have a 25-30 HR season at the hot corner.

Beltran was the cream of the free-agent crop, and will be looked upon to continue his production from the 2004 postseason. Floyd and Cameron are coming off injuries, and a return to their pre-injury form would prove greatly beneficial at the corner spots.

This will be a very versatile bench, now that utility man Miguel Cairo has been added to the preexisting group. Versatility, however, does not always lend itself to results.

The Mets are slightly devoid of prospects, although Pagan and Brazell project well to the majors.

Brett Myers may also make an appearance in this rotation, but the true gem of this staff is Floyd, assuming he holds true to his minor-league form.

This bullpen is marked by the return of Terry Adams and Tim Worrell (one back from Boston, one back from injury), and the addition of a second lefty in Aaron Fultz.

Wagner is still an elite-level closer, and should be counted on for 35-38 saves, assuming his middle guys can get leads to him.

Last year's infield returns intact. The middle of the infield is solid, and is comparable to any other in the East.

Lofton comes over from the Yankees, and gives the Phillies only a slight upgrade in center. He will, at the least, provide more speed at the top of the lineup. Burrell needs to put the bat on the baseball to avoid being the next Dave Kingman.

Top prospects Howard and Utley are joined by a number of middling veterans on the Phillies bench.

The Phillies' minor league depth is on the hill. Their top two position prospects (Howard and Utley) likely break camp and head north with the team.

The rotation looks a bit more promising, with 6'11" beast Rauch and Loaiza joining the three holdovers from last year. Day is a good young arm who can be extremely successful in this league.

There are a vast number of options in the pen, but these guys appear to be the most effective they could throw out there.

Cordero is a rising star, and appears to be on track for success in Washington.

Brad Wilkerson could also get some time at first, but the entire left side of the infield was overhauled as well. IThere should not be a large reason to have a lot of faith in this infield.

This is one of the stronger areas for the Nationals, as there is quality at every position. The Nationals appear to be okay in the minors here, as well.

J.J. Davis may head north with the club, as well, after coming over from the Pirates. Former Red Sox and Reds farmhand Tony Blanco is also a possibility here, and they will likely be joined by C Gary Bennett.

Broadway is probably the Nationals' top prospect, and appears to have a bright future as a hitter. Church is a speedy outfielder who impressed during his brief stay in Montreal in 2004. Hinckley is on the 40-man roster, and may start at AAA New Orleans.