The NL Central is the strongest division from top to bottom in the league. The Cardinals have stars and depth and are the favorite to take home the Armchair World Series. The Reds and Pirates are going to fight for the Wild Card spots if they don’t knock each other out. The Brewers and Cubs are not as bad as many of the bottom dwellers in the different divisions throughout the league, but will struggle for wins in such a competitive division.
In order from favorite to least favorite (2013 record)(My projection):
St. Louis Cardinals (17-5)(20-2)- The Cardinals failed to make the playoffs last year, but that should change this year. The offense on this team is downright scary. Molina and Santana are a ridiculous catching combination. Carpenter is a beast at second, Adams could hit 40 homers at first, Moss hit 30 homers last year, and he has the reigning NL MVP in the OF. Kipnis might be even better than Carpenter, Freese has a great chance to bounce back despite a bad spring, and there is a ton of depth. Tavares will be raking in the majors by the end of the year if he can stay healthy, Marcell Ozuna is a breakout candidate, and Furcal should find new life at 2B. The Cardinals will have a lot of people on the bench getting points. Their pitching is not too shabby either. Price is a bonafide ace, Wacha has ace potential, Kelly/Guthrie/Hammel/Lynn/Miller are all solid #3-4s. The relief corps is top heavy, but the starting pitching depth is great. This is the favorite to win the World Series.
Pittsburgh Pirates (18-4)(17-5)- The reigning NL champs are looking to take it all the way this year and they have a solid chance to do so. The Pirates have a good offense. Navarro and Martin make a solid combination behind the plate, Smoak still somehow has a starting gig at 1B, and Altuve/Hanley/Cabrera make up a great middle infield. I would like their offense more if Morrison were expected to play the field, but their OF is perhaps the deepest in the league. There is no weak spot among their starting 5 and they still have Marte waiting in the wings. The pitching staff is deep, but unspectacular. I like Dickey to return to being a top 10 starting pitcher like he was in the second half last year and I like Chacin a lot. Many fringe starters make this team a playoff team, but they are going to have trouble competing with the Cards.
Cincinnati Reds (17-5)(16-6)- Like the Cardinals, the Reds barely missed the playoffs last year. They should be on the bubble again this year. The Reds have a good offense that is a notch below the Pirates in my opinion. Rosario is proving to be an elite fantasy catcher, Grandal is the front runner to start in San Diego, and Laroche is going to get those 1B putouts. Reyes is elite when healthy, but never seems to put a whole season together and Arruebarruena is not ML ready. Alonso and Laroche at 1B are the key for the offense, however. Bruce and Pence will carry an otherwise underwhelming OF. It will be interesting to see if Billy Hamilton can get on base to use his speed this year. The pitching staff is good, but lacks depth. Archer/Bailey/Leake/Lester/Wood make up a 1-5 that is enviable, but Hanson seems like his impact is gone. Watch out for Vidal Nuno- he could win a starting job in New York this year. The Reds will compete with the Pirates for #2 and are favorites for the final wild card spot to me.
Milwaukee Brewers (6-16)(6-16)- The Brewers were pretty bad last year and probably will not improve a whole lot this year. They do have the opportunity to get out of the cellar however. Khris Davis is a player to watch if the Brewers decide to call him up this year. Gomez, Braun, and Kemp (I think he bounces back in a big way) could give the Brew Crew the best 1-3 OF in the league this year. Jeter should be good trade bait at the deadline. d’Arnaud needs to show me he can hit well to be a good fantasy catcher. I expect Tanaka to be a steal in NY this year and Gallardo should pitch much better this year. Estrada, Alvarez, and Peralta make this a possibly good rotation. There is just not enough depth for the Brewers to compete this year.
Chicago Cubs (14-8)(5-17)- The Cubs put in a good season last year, but are going to struggle in the division this year. Mauer is an absolute stud and Encarnacion just keeps mashing homers. The rest of the offense does not impress, although Junior Lake could use his athleticism to break out. Samardzija headlines a fairly weak starting rotation. Liriano is a strong candidate for regression and the bullpen is lacking much to be excited about. The Cubs are going to need surprisingly good years from Ogando, McAllister, Sanchez, and Aoki to sniff .500. I just do not see it happening in this division.
