Players say MLB's most surprising team will be ...

During Spring Training, MLB.com beat writers surveyed their clubhouses, asking players for their opinions on a range of topics. Well over 100 players participated, in exchange for anonymity. In the leadup to Opening Day, MLB.com is publishing a series of stories based on the results of that survey.

Today’s topic: Surprise team

Every baseball season brings its share of surprises that no one saw coming on Opening Day, and 2023 was no exception. Look no further than last year's World Series matchup between the Rangers and D-backs, two teams that posted losing records during the previous campaign.

Which teams are poised to surprise people the most in 2024? Here’s what the players think.

1. Kansas City Royals
The Royals lost 106 games last year and haven’t posted a winning record since their World Series championship season in 2015. But Kansas City was one of the most active teams during the offseason, adding veterans such as Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Will Smith and Hunter Renfroe to a young core led by burgeoning superstar Bobby Witt Jr., who signed an 11-year, $288.7 million extension in February.

That came on the heels of the Royals landing potential ace Cole Ragans from the Rangers in a trade for veteran reliever Aroldis Chapman last summer.

The club's moves clearly haven't gone unnoticed around the Majors -- more than one-quarter of the players who were surveyed named Kansas City as the team they think will be the most surprising of 2024.

“I wouldn't be surprised if the Royals are in first place in the [American League] Central,” said one National League pitcher. “Everyone saw all the moves they made. Almost every week or so, it was like, 'Oh, Royals sign this guy.' They were at the bottom of the totem pole last year. But when they played us, their offense -- they had enough young offensive guys that could really swing it.

“Now they're bringing in pitchers, they're bringing in veterans. If they're doing that, it's a clear attempt to be at the top of the division. They can see their division's up for grabs, so I definitely wouldn't be surprised if they were up there.”

2. Cincinnati Reds
Although they fell short of the playoffs in 2023, the Reds laid the groundwork for future success. With several promising rookies -- including Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Andrew Abbott -- joining an already impressive collection of young talent, Cincinnati ended up improving by 20 games (82-80) from the previous year (62-100).

And after supplementing their young core with several veteran additions, the Reds could be set to make another leap in 2024.

“I think they’re young. They’ve got a lot of energy. They’re a team that could take a big step forward or have a bit of sophomore slump,” said one AL outfielder. “They kind of came on the scene last year. I think they have a lot of potential.”

3. Detroit Tigers
The Royals weren’t the only AL Central team that had a busy offseason. The Tigers did, too, acquiring Kenta Maeda, Jack Flaherty, Gio Urshela and Mark Canha.

If its new additions work out and cornerstones such as Spencer Torkelson, Tarik Skubal and Riley Greene continue to develop, Detroit could make a push for its first postseason berth since 2014.

"I think it's going to be kind of hard to ignore what the Tigers are doing,” said one AL reliever. “They've got a very young core, who, even last year, performed pretty well. Now, they've gone and added a couple of pieces to bridge the gap. I think they're going to be pretty strong and it's going to be very hard to ignore them."

4. Baltimore Orioles
After winning 101 games and the AL East title in 2023, the Orioles aren’t sneaking up on anyone this year. That said, the O’s could still surprise some people by taking another step forward in 2024.

That’s a strong possibility, what with trade acquisition Corbin Burnes now heading up Baltimore’s rotation, Jackson Holliday (MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 overall prospect) set to join fellow youngsters Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Grayson Rodriguez on the big league roster and more prospects waiting in the wings.

5. Chicago Cubs
The free-agent additions of Dansby Swanson and Cody Bellinger sparked a nine-game improvement for the Cubs from 2022 (74-88) to 2023 (83-79).

Chicago was able to re-sign Bellinger in free agency this past offseason and inked Japanese lefty Shota Imanaga to replace Marcus Stroman in its rotation. The Cubs also have a new manager, signing former Brewers skipper Craig Counsell and parting ways with David Ross in a stunning move last November.

Will all of that add up to more wins for the Cubs in 2024? A number of players think so. Chicago was a popular pick in our player survey.

Others receiving votes: Angels, Astros, Athletics, Blue Jays, Brewers, Cardinals, D-backs, Giants, Guardians, Mariners, Marlins, Mets, Nationals, Padres, Phillies, Pirates, Rays, Red Sox, Twins, Yankees