We've been watching spring training for close to a month right now and we've seen some very interesting things develop as the numbers pile up. We tell you not to get too caught up in spring numbers, but it can be very difficult not to get caught up in the excitement. That being said, the line between hot take and bold prediction becomes blurred. Below are some of what I consider to be bold predictions, but, are they? Or have I caught the spring fever and am looking at some players with more hopeful eyes?

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"Jason Kipnis is a top-seven second baseman in 2018"

Kipnis made the spring training analysis article last week, but his performance has maintained at an elite level, so it would be incredibly insensitive to not include him yet again this week. Through six spring training games, he’s hitting .529 with a league-leading six home runs. Any concerns, injury or performance, from 2017 have to nearly be dispelled at this point. He looks like the Jason Kipnis that many of us craved to have on our fantasy teams in recent teams.

Kipnis won’t be the 30 steal guy we saw in 2012 and 2013, but he’s certainly not the 12 home run, six stolen base guy that negatively affected our fantasy teams in 2017. In 2018, he should hit around .270 with 20 home runs and anywhere from 10-15 stolen bases. Although second base is incredibly deep this season, the only guys that should finish above him are as follows: Jose Altuve, Brian Dozier, Jonathan Schoop, Robinson Cano, Ozzie Albies and Daniel Murphy. At the very least this season, Kipnis will be inside the top-seven at the second base position . An improvement from last year’s .256 BABIP and a return to a hard-hit percentage north of 32 percent are key to a bounce back campaign.

"Rafael Devers finishes with a batting average above .310 this season"

Devers is hitting .391 so far this spring, with two home runs and three RBI, and he’s yet to strikeout, which is a great sign. Devers struck out 23.8 percent of the time last season during his 58 big league games, so if this spring is a sign of things to come, a reduced strikeout rate should result in even better looking stats for the young third baseman.

Besides nine games at Triple-A and 70 games in rookie ball, Devers never posted a batting average above .290 at Single-A or Double-A. For his entire minor league career, he was a .296 hitter and he hit .284 in 58 games with Boston last season. So why will the 21-year-old hit above .310 this season?

Devers posted an incredible spray chart last season, showing an ability to hit the ball to all parts of the field. He made medium or hard contact 81.8 percent of the time and wasn’t fazed when a lefty was on the mound. In fact, he hit lefties better for average last season, but eight of his 10 home runs came against right-handers. The young kid at the hot corner posted a line drive rate of just 15.3 percent last season, which was below his 21.6 and 22.2 percent at Double-A and Triple-A respectively. A few more line drives and a few less ground balls will lead to a nice increase in his batting average.

He’ll hit above .310 this season. Lock it in.

"Ronald Acuna goes 25/25 in 2018"

Tempering expectations with a guy like Acuna is nearly impossible. At just 20 years old, he’s flown through the minor leagues, failing to play more than 60 games at any level. However, he’s vastly exceeded expectations at all levels, including a .325 or higher average with double-digit steals at both Double-A and Triple-A. Projections for Acuna are all over the place and continue to change frequently, and I’m in the same boat.

I was content with a 15/15 tag on Acuna for 2018, given that he might not open the year with the big league club and the young outfielder will inevitably need to go through growing pains with an adjustment period. However, in spring training this year, Acuna has one home run and two steals in nine games, not to mention a .423 batting average and an exceptional 1.038 OPS. He’s striking out more than one would like, but that part of his game might be below-average as he gets accustomed to big league pitching.

If he doesn’t break camp with the team, he’ll likely only be down for a couple weeks, giving him the majority of the season with the Atlanta Braves. In what should amount to about 140 big league games this season, Acuna is hitting 25 home runs and stealing 25 bases. Baste in it.

"Josh Bell hits 30 HR with 100 RBI"

Bell smacked 26 home runs with 90 RBI in 159 games last season, so while the jump to 30 and 100 may not seem like much, it would be a big improvement for the 25-year-old first baseman. With Andrew McCutchen out west in San Francisco, Bell is the premier power source in the lineup and he will be relied upon heavily in the three or four spot of the Pittsburgh batting order. A .278 BABIP is rather low, so if that mark gets up closer to .300, he could see a nice increase from his .255 batting average in 2017. He makes hard contact one-third of the time and can drive the ball to all parts of the field. Hopefully, in 2018 he can cut down on his ground balls and start lofting the ball more, which would nearly guarantee an increase in his power production.

Bell is struggling this spring, hitting just .190 in eight games, but there are some silver linings. He’s struck out just one time in 21 at-bats, which could even be signs of an even diminished strikeout percentage this season. Bell is being drafted nearly outside of the top-20 first baseman, which presents incredible value in 2018. Furthermore, his value is sky high in dynasty formats, as he could be a positive power source without destroying your team batting average for years to come.