Lineup

Departments

4 SI Now

6 Leading Off

12 Editors' Letter

14 Inbox

19 Scorecard

26 Faces in the Crowd

116 Point After

Michael Rosenberg: Chi Society

2017 MLB PREVIEW

17 FOR '17

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

32 NCAA Tournament

Once March Madness starts, no one can predict what—or who—will make the difference

40 Mike Trout (1)

The living, breathing blend of Mantle and Mays is in our midst

By Ben Reiter

• Adrián Beltré goes for 3,000 hits (2)

• Albert Pujols nears 600 homers (3)

46 Indians (4)

After falling one win short, Cleveland added one big bat

By Jack Dickey

• The Super Relievers (5)

48 Yankees (6)

The Bronx Bombers are back to building the right way

By Ben Reiter

• For Boston, it's all in the details (7)

• Atlanta's brave new world (8)

52 Kris Bryant (9)

The NL MVP's story is nearly too good to be true

By Tom Verducci

• Return of the long ball (10)

• Memorable fan encounters (11)

60 The Class of 2015 (12)

Baseball's budding stars have already made their presence felt

By Jon Tayler

66 Joey Votto (13)

The Reds' big machine is a Hall-level hitter—and getting better

By Jack Dickey

• The utility player's moment (14)

68 Eric Thames (15)

After finding stardom in Korea, the slugger tries for MLB fame

By Tom Verducci

• The pitch whisperers (16)

70 Dave Roberts (17)

L.A.'s manager fills an array of roles—from counselor to comedian

By Tom Verducci

74 Scouting Reports

SI offers modest proposals for each team—plus lineups and scouts' takes

SI HAS REGIONAL COVERS THIS WEEK: Jeffery A. Salter (Red Sox); Robert Beck (Trout, Bryant)