I’ll give you the who, what, when, where, and why’s with predictions coming when I finish with the divisions. Not so long ago, this was a horrible divison. 84 wins got you into the playoffs at one point. Those days are gone.
Chicago Cubs: The roster that Theo Epstein has constructed in a few short years is a thing of beauty. It should be marveled and studied. The roster along with masterful manager Joe Maddon under the Epstein regime is a collection that all other teams are envious of. This is virtually the same roster that ended their 108 year title drought in 2016. They’ve added a few more prospects to an already potent lineup and swapped out Jake Arrieta for Yu Darvish. If the Cubs end their season before the NLCS, it would be considered a failure.
Cincinnati Reds: Other than the venerable Joey Votto, there isn’t much to like about this team. They’ve become bottom dwellers with no real plan to escape. I spotted you Joey Votto but if you could name another 2 to 3 players on the Reds roster, you should win a prize. Good luck, Reds fans.
Milwaukee Brewers: The Brew crew surprised a great number of pundits by competing for the division and wild card last year. During the off season, the organization took that momentum and ran with it signing Lorenzo Cain to a good deal and trading for Christian Yelich. Domingo Santana cemented his spot in right, pushing Ryan “roid” Braun to first. The lineup and bullpen are solid but the rotation could use some work. After Davies, Anderson and Chacin in a 3 game set, the anchors of the rotation, Gallardo and Miley, could become albatrosses. Look for a few in season trades to sure up the rotation to compete.
Pittsburg Pirates: The Buccos are a team that could raise the Jolly Roger quite a bit this year. That’s if, of course, you knew what they actually intend to do. The Pirates do have a formidable lineup with good defense and a descent pipeline for prospects but the yearly cost cutting the team does doesn’t scream contender as they traded away their staff ace and long time face of the franchise Andrew McCutchen. Few managers can to do more with less like Clint Hurdle can but even he has his limits. Will this team go full fire sale or compete for the wild card? Time will tell.
St Louis Cardinals: After the Ozuna trade rounded out their lineup over the offseason, the average cards fans could expect the team to compete for the wild card. While their lineup and bullpen will keep them in games and let me know if you’ve heard this before but they team will only go as far as their rotation will allow them. The rotation vastly under performed last year now they’ve lost Lance Lynn and Adam Wainwright is now fully in his twilight years at age 36 coming off a 5+ ERA season. The Cards will do their best to battle the Brew crew for second best in the division.