Opening Day is 41 days away, and I have never been more excited for baseball. I think the Cardinals are going to have a great 2016 season, but I also think that it is going to be a very competitive year in the NL Central. What should we expect? We should expect 3 teams that will be very competitive, with 2 teams that are just along for the ride. Lets dive a little deeper into the NL Central in 2016.
Chicago Cubs
In 2016, expect the Cubs to be one of the best teams in baseball. They are a very young team, that will have a really good offense. One thing that I’m not totally sold on, is their pitching. They have a very solid No. 1 guy in Jake Arrieta, a pretty good No. 2 in Jon Lester, an old, but durable No. 3 in John Lackey, a mediocre No. 4 in Jason Hammel, and an I don’t know what No. 5 in Kyle Hendrick. I am not saying that they don’t have good pitching, but there are better rotations out there. Their bullpen isn’t bad either, but as most of us know, multiple times the Cubs lost games in the last few innings, because of their bullpen. Going into 2016, everyone is predicting the Cubs to win the World Series, I on the other hand am not. Yes, I think they will have a good year, but I think there will be a few teams that can beat them later in the year. It will definitely be interesting to see how the Cubs perform in 2016.
Cincinnati Reds
Expect the Reds to have a not so good year. As you will see later on in this article, I don’t think the Reds will be the worst team in the NL Central, because of their young, but good rotation, and because of their few offensive players. In no way do I think the Reds will be a contending team, but I do like the potential of their young rotation. As of now the Reds are still shopping Jay Bruce on the market, so I would expect Bruce to be with another team by the Trading Deadline. Obviously, they have already traded Aroldis Chapman, and Todd Frazier, but I would expect more moves to come.
Milwaukee Brewers
I expect the Brewers to have a terrible season in 2016. When I think of the Brewers, the only player I can think of that they still have is Ryan Braun. The Brewers have definitely kicked into rebuilding mode. A rebuilding mode that is going to take forever. If you are a Brewers fan, it may be a few years before they start winning any games.
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates are an interesting team. They are a team that I think hasn’t upgraded much since last season. But, apparently quite a few people disagree, because they have the Pirates in 2nd place in the Central, with the Cardinals in 3rd. I think the Pirates are good, but I don’t think they have made the necessary upgrades to beat the Cubs or Cardinals. I think they will have a good year in 2016, and possibly get a Wild Card spot, but do not expect them to win the division.
St.Louis Cardinals
The St.Louis Cardinals are an interesting team as well. If healthy, the Cardinals could be one of the best teams in the Majors, but with injuries, they could struggle. Going into 2016 I think the Cardinals have a very good chance at winning the division and making a deep playoff run, because they are solid all around. The Cardinals have great pitching, in the Bullpen and Rotation, they have good offense, even though they don’t have power, and they have great defense. I expect the Cardinals to be neck and neck with the Cubs throughout the whole season, but if injuries occur like in 2015, I would expect some moves at the Trading Deadline.
Who will win the NL Central?
I personally, being a Cardinals fan, think the Cardinals will win the NL Central. I don’t think they will blow away the Cubs, but overall they have more experience and like I said before, they have all around talent.
Let me know what you think of my predictions of the NL Central.
Click here to answer the NL Central poll.
Thanks for reading.
Follow me on Twitter @easton_leonard.
