The MLB is locked out and a week of games has already been canceled in the MLB. The consensus is that the MLB will begin games in May and just allow April to wash away without any games.
Once the MLB can agree to a bargaining agreement, free agency is going to be extremely exciting and fun. There will be hundreds of signings and trades, left and right, and it’ll be so hard to keep track.
For baseball fans like myself, it doesn’t get any better than that. There are still so many great baseball players that are not signed right now.
Anyway, let’s talk about the NL Central.
Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers won the division last season, going 96-67. On the road, the Brewers finished 50-31 and that was basically how the Brewers were able to win the division. The St. Louis Cardinals had 90 wins and came close to the Brewers. Meanwhile, the Reds, Cubs, and Pirates all had down years, with the Reds finishing with 83 wins, Cubs finishing with 71 wins, and the Pirates finishing with 61 wins and 101 losses.
The Brewers lost Avisail Garcia to the Marlins but were able to sign Hunter Renfroe to replace him before the lockout. Renfroe isn’t Garcia and probably won’t put up the same numbers, but he’s got pop and power to help the middle of the lineup along with Christian Yelich.
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The rotation is still one of the best in baseball, with the top three starters including Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, and Freddy Peralta. Plus, the bullpen for Milwaukee is also overachieving.
The questions surround the offense for the Brewers, but the starting pitching will keep Milwaukee in games throughout the season.
Cardinals
Next, the St. Louis Cardinals didn’t make any changes to its lineup yet. The lineup still includes a lot of talent with Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado leading the charge. Young talent like Tommy Edman, Tyler O’Neill, and Dylan Carlson make this Cardinals lineup dangerous.
The starting rotation added Steven Matz before the lockout and there’s potential with Jack Flaherty healthy along with Miles Mikolas being healthy.
Cubs
Next up, the Chicago Cubs are looking a bit different than last year’s roster. But with the development of Frank Schwindel, Patrick Wisdom, Nico Hoerner, and Nick Madrigal, the offense for the Cubs can be elite in a couple of years.
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Chicago also agreed to a long-term extension with Marcus Stroman to be the number one pitcher and added Wade Miley to be another big rotation guy. The Cubs have a lot of potentials and did well trading most all-stars last trade deadline.
Reds
The Reds also have a lot of young talent including the NL Rookie of the Year in Jonathan India. Jesse Winker became an elite outfielder and the entire lineup was pretty consistent throughout the season. The starting rotation still needs help, however, with Reiver Sanmartin expected to be a starter at this point in time.
Pirates
Lastly, the Pirates will be in full tank mode again. Bryan Reynolds will man the middle of the lineup, but after him, the lineup looks pretty bad other than Ke’Bryan Hayes, who has potential. The starting rotation is a bunch of no-names and it’s just getting embarrassing at this point for the Pirates.
And the Winner is…
With all that said, I believe the Cubs could be a serious contender this season. The rotation has gotten much better and the offense has so much young talent. The Brewers’ offense scares me a little bit and the Cardinals don’t have good enough pitching in my eyes. I like the MLB odds for the Cubs.
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