Our NL Central predictions are up next and after having two representatives in the 2021 postseason, we feel comfortable predicting that the Cardinals and Brewers will again finish in the top 2 positions in the division.
We think it'll finish like this -
St Louis Cardinals
Milwaukee Brewers
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Pittsburgh Pirates
St Louis had an incredible 18 wins out of their last 19 games of 2021 to storm into the postseason. And their team remains predominantly the same one that finished last season so strongly. Steven Matz is coming off one of his best seasons and joins as a free agent, as does Albert Pujols who will retire at the end of this season - likely with the same organisation that drafted him in 1999.
Pujols may be a long way past his prime, but the universal DH has made this one of the feel good stories of the offseason. He joins a line-up that already had Tyler O'Neill, Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt, and St Louis looks set for another excellent offensive season. Adam Wainwright (age) and Jack Flaherty (injury) will be key issues for the Cardinals pitching staff, but if they can each pitch every 5th day then St Louis look to be in very good shape.
The Milwaukee Brewers' biggest strength is unquestionably their rotation. Brandon Woodruff finished 5th in Cy Young voting last season and Corbin Burnes finished first. Freddy Peralta struck out all 3 batters he faced in the All Star game too. Their rotation is arguably the best in baseball.
Their bullpen isn't exactly bad either, with Josh Hader and Devin Williams both having legitimate closer stuff. Their offense is where we have some questions though, which is why we've got them finishing second in the division. Christian Yelich has been uncharacteristically quiet the last couple of seasons, but Hunter Renfroe, Andrew McCutchen and Willie Adames should be able to take a bit of the pressure away from Yelich.
Either way though, the Brewers' rotation means that they will likely win a lot of games this season.
The Chicago Cubs are somewhat confusing to us. In recent years, they've dismantled their 2016 World Series winning team and traded away Anthony Rizzo, Javy Baez and Kris Bryant within the last year. So you might expect that they are going into re-build mode, but their offseason additions seem to suggest otherwise.
In come Seiya Suzuki from Japan and Marcus Stroman & Wade Miley. For us, the Cubs seem to be in the awkward middle-ground of not being serious division challengers, but not fully rebuilding either. Having a young core of Nick Madrigal and Nico Hoerner goes some way to explaining that. Another season of experience for these players will hopefully leave them in a good position to spend again next offseason and push for the division title once again. But it likely won't be this season.
The Cincinnati Reds are another team which don't look as good going into this season as they did finishing the last. Nick Castellanos, Sonny Gray and Jesse Winker are all gone, likely along with any hopes of another postseason push this season.
But, that's not to say that they won't have some standout performances; Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle are both coming off decent seasons. While on offense, Jonathan India, Tyler Stephenson and Nick Senzel each have the potential to put up really good numbers.
Joey Votto could be a candidate to be traded at the deadline if Cincinnati are out of the playoff race by then, which could allow the Reds to add to their already strong group of young players.
Lastly, we think that the Pittsburgh Pirates will finish last in the division for the 4th straight season. Bryan Reynolds and Ke'Bryan Hayes look set to put up good numbers this season and it likely won't be long before some of their top prospects - Oneil Cruz & Nick Gonzales - join the team.
Henry Davis and Quinn Priester both look good for the future, but are unlikely to make a big league impact until another couple of years. But going into 2022, Pirates fans will probably be bracing for another 100 loss season.
Who do you think will win the NL Central? Let us know in the comments or on twitter.
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