While there have always been franchises in baseball rebuilding for the future, the act of rebuilding itself -- explicitly absorbing short-term losses to further long-term goals -- remains controversial. But what is undeniable is that many of the most successful teams in baseball preceded their runs with a stretch of rebuilding or, less charitably, tanking.The 2015-2016 Chicago Cubs became one of the best teams in baseball, their fallow years allowing them to focus on assembling the farm system and putting off the big-ticket contracts until contention was more realistic. While the 2016 Houston Astros have been disappointing, the 2015 team that came close to knocking off the eventual World Series champions had lost 111 games just two years prior. And where would the Kansas City Royals be without a series of deals that landed them Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar and Wade Davis, among others, years after Zack Greinke departed?Right now, there are arguably five teams in baseball voluntarily going through the full tear-down-and-rebuild process: the Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres. While the goal is the same for all five teams, the overarching strategy and approach to their respective rebuilds is quite different. To help answer who will get to the promised land quicker than the rest, Ive enlisted the aid of the ZiPS projection system. Justin Upton Jersey . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time. Nolan Ryan Angels Jersey . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. http://www.baseballangelslockroom.com/j-c-ramirez-angels-jersey/ . Its 1987 and a Brazilian playmaker, known as Mirandinha, is being paraded around St James Park to the passionate Newcastle fans. Reggie Jackson Jersey . -- About a third of the way through the regular season, the Washington Wizards are at . CJ Wilson Jersey . They reached the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in five games, bested the visiting Trail Blazers by 34 in the paint and scored 19 of the final 25 points in regulation. Whitewater churns into foam as double-ended paddles windmill one-person boats into position. The paddles go up in the air as the boats slide through red or green gates, then the furious wind milling begins again.For a sport that doesnt get the attention of some of the more well-known ones, whitewater canoe and kayak has plenty of action and drama.A few things to look for in whitewater canoe/kayak at the Rio Olympics next month:THE LOWDOWN: The four canoe/kayak slalom events will be held Aug. 7-11, with medals award the final three days. Men compete in single and double canoe, along with kayak. Women compete in kayak only. The races will take place at the Whitewater Stadium in Deodoro on a steep 250-meter course that has between 18 and 25 gates. Green gates are negotiated with the current, red against it. Paddlers are assessed a two-second penalty for hitting a gate and 50 seconds for missing one completely.EUROPEAN DOMINANCE: European countries have dominated the sport since its inception at the 1936 Berlin Olympics and show no signs of letting loose of their stranglehold. In mens canoe slalom (C1), European counties have won every medal but one since the 1992 Barcelona Games, when the sport was put back into the Olympic program after a 20-year absence. Europe has accounted for all but one medal in kayak (K1) and 16 of 18 medals in two-person canoe (C2) during that span. Women have had a little better chance breaking through the European stronghold, with paddlers from the U.S. and Australia combining for six of the 18 medals since Barcelona.AMERICAN MEN: The United States team has two paddlers with solid chances to earn medals in Rio. Kayaker Michal Smolen, who emigrated from Poland as a child, was unable to compete at the 2012 London Games due to questions about his citizenship, but should make a strong run to the podium this time around. Smolen earned bronze at the 2015 world championsships and has times that compare to the best paddlers in the world.dddddddddddd Not bad for someone who was terrified of the water when he first started kayaking at 8. Canoeist Casey Eichfield will be competing in his third straight Olympics and will try to pull off a double, competing in C1 and C2 with Devin McEwan. Eichfield finished fourth at world championships and was in the top 15 his previous two Olympics.NEES RELIEF: Womens kayaker Ashley Nee had a rough road to her first Olympics. She qualified for the 2008 Beijing Games, but injured a shoulder during a test event and wasnt able to completely recover in time for the Olympic trials, finishing fourth. Nee had enough points to qualify for the 2012 London Games, but was edged out by Caroline Queen on a tiebreaker. Nee won the Olympic trials this May, yet still didnt have a spot secured; she had to await a decision by the International Canoe Federation to award the United States an additional athlete quota spot. Now at 27, shes headed to her first Olympics.C1 OPENING: Mens single canoe has been dominated by two paddlers the past five Olympics: Michal Martikan of Slovakia and Frances Tony Estanguet. Starting with the 1996 Atlanta Games, those two won every gold medal in C1; three by Estanguet and two by Martikan. There will be a different champion in Rio after Estanguet retired and Martikan, the only canoe slalomist to win five Olympic gold medals, failed to make the Slovakian team for Rio.KEEP AN EYE ON: Kayaker Jiri Prskavec of the Czech Republic is the type of paddler who could be uncatchable if hes on his game. His father, Jiri, was a two-time Olympian and the younger Prskavec has a chance to make bigger waves in Rio. He was the 2015 world champion and has five medals in world championship competition. ' ' '