So without further ado, let's jump right into the depth charts. Here are the top National League Non Roster Invitees, as determined by my painstaking research and carefully crafted opinions.
J.P. Arencibia put on a power display last year with the Rays and he has a pretty good shot to crack a weak Phillies roster, even though there are two right handed hitting catchers in front of him on the depth chart. Backup Ryan Lavarnway has spent time at first, which means he can also back up Kyle Blanks, who was lucky enough to latch on with the Giants in an even-numbered year. Elian Herrera scored the most fantasy points of all NL NRI infielders last year, and his versatility will allow him to man second base while Will Middlebrooks takes third - the position he has a good chance to win with the Brewers' big club this year. The best choices for shortstop are two top-ten prospects with no MLB experience, but if neither J.P. Crawford (5) nor Dansby Swanson (8) are ready to start the year, defensive whiz Brendan Ryan or super utility type Adam Rosales can fill in.
Jeff Francoeur might not be a lock to make the Braves roster out of Spring Training after returning to his original club, but he had by far the best 2015 season of any outfielder in this group. Shane Victorino has had a very good career, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him land with another team before the end of Spring Training - his minors deal with the Cubs was finalized just moments before the club re-signed center fielder Dexter Fowler. He could form a left field platoon with lefties Matt Joyce and/or Shane Peterson, the latter of which could also platoon with Jason Bourgeois in center. That leaves Justin Maxwell and Skip Schumaker as bench platoon options, although obviously not all 7 of them can make this hypothetical club.
On paper, it looks like Jhoulys Chacin is the most likely NRI pitcher to make an MLB roster out of Spring Training: he's the only NRI pitcher ranked within the top 600 by MLB.com (as of the start of Spring Training last Sunday) who also reached the majors in 2015. Chacin actually pitched very well for Cleveland last year, which led to the Braves picking him up to try and fill one of the two to three wide open spots in their rotation (along with another member of this list, Kyle Kendrick). Brandon Morrow gets a spot on this list because of his stellar five starts with San Diego last year (which caused the Padres to re-sign him to a minors deal), even though he missed most of the season due to shoulder problems and then hasn't been able to rehab most of the winter because of illness. Similarly, Brandon Beachy is back with the Dodgers after another injury-ravaged season, but he'll get a chance to compete for a rotation spot in a similarly injury-ravaged Dodgers rotation.
Bronson Arroyo is the only veteran on this list who didn't pitch at all in 2015, but his situation last year was so strange (his contract was traded twice despite the fact that he was never ready to pitch) and his comeback attempt this winter has been so public, that you can't help but root for him to make it back to the majors. Julio Urias and Lucas Giolito make the list because they're the #3 and #4 ranked prospects in the majors, respectively.
The three NL NRI relievers with the most recent closer experience are Casey Janssen, who finished games for the Blue Jays from 2012-14, Ernesto Frieri, the Angels' closer in parts of the same three year span, and Edward Mujica, who served as the Cardinals' closer in 2013. Andrew Bailey and Jim Henderson have closed in the past, but neither of them spent significant time in the majors last year. There is no shortage of solid middle relievers to bridge the gap to the ninth inning, such as Alexi Ogando, Blaine Boyer, Jean Machi, and Carlos Torres. And for lefty specialists, the NL has Alex Torres (no relation), Manny Parra, and James Russell to choose from - Chris Narveson and Chris Capuano are also lefties, but they profile as more long relief/swingman types.
Michael McKenry's 2015 offensive stats might have been inflated due to Coors Field, but he's still a quality receiver who if nothing else can serve as a platoon mate for switch hitting Carlos Corporan. Ike Davis began last year as Oakland's starting first baseman and he's still got some potential in his bat, despite a tough road to 1B/DH at bats in his new home of Texas. If he needs a platoon partner against lefties, one need look no further than Korean import Dae-Ho Lee, who will hope to play that same role with the Mariners this year. Or even Casey McGehee, who was signed by Detroit presumably to light a fire under Nick Castellanos. But the crown jewel of this year's NRI class is Jimmy Rollins, who was all but handed the White Sox's starting shortstop job, even despite his minor league deal. This means that Clint Barmes and Josh Rutledge will have to battle it out for the second base position.
Travis Snider and Will Venable have real shots to start the season in the big leagues due to injuries (to Jarrod Dyson on the Royals) and suspensions (to Abraham Almonte on the Indians) to the projected starters, so they are pretty much locks for this team. Domonic Brown was once a top prospect with the Phillies and if the Blue Jays don't end up trading for Jay Bruce, he could be in line for some playing time in left field this year. Each of these left handed hitting outfielders also have a nice platoon partner to work with: Shane Robinson, Drew Stubbs, and Allen Craig, respectively.
The AL NRI rotation has three solid players at the top, but falls off kind of drastically after that. Jeremy Guthrie (24 starts in 2015), Wandy Rodriguez (15), and Roberto Hernandez (11) all spent significant time in the majors last year, but neither have a clear path back to the show in 2016, barring injuries. The only other starters who pitched more than one game in 2015 and scored positive points are Dillon Gee and Sean O'Sullivan (David Huff suffered through a negative points season and Brad Mills only made one appearance). But there are a number of veterans with upside who missed 2015, such as A.J. Griffin, Chien-Ming Wang, and Brad Penny. Jose Berrios is the lone prospect on this list, clocking in at #19 on the top 100, but as his overall rank of 305 suggests, he's practically a lock to crack the Twins rotation this year.
Quality right handed depth is also an issue for the AL NRI bullpen, which has former closers David Aardsma, Joba Chamberlain, and Bobby Parnell, although two of that trio barely pitched in 2015. The most accomplished reliever of the group is Joel Peralta who, along with Ross Ohlendorf, are the only two non-starters to average more than 10 points per game in 2015. However this team is actually not short on left handed relievers, as Cesar Ramos and Brian Duensing enjoyed moderate success last year, with Fernando Abad and Joe Thatcher primed for bounceback years. Former starters Tom Gorzelanny and Dana Eveland (also left handed) are candidates for the long relief spot.
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