The NL Central has the chance to be one of the most competitive division in all of baseball this year. The Cubs have come out of nowhere to make themselves legitimate threats after a huge spending spree this offseason. The Cardinals are always a legitimate threat to win the World Series year in and year out, and the Pirates have made themselves a relevant playoff team over the past three seasons.
Chicago Cubs: Are they legitimate contenders this year?
The Cubs have gone 105 years without a World Series victory but have done a great job at putting themselves in the talks of contention after this year. The Cubs went on a massive spending Spree, signing players like Jon Lester, Jason Motte, Jason Hammel, and trading for guys like Miguel Montero, Dexter Fowler and Justin Ruggiano. Not to mention the Cubs have a very young core as well as tons of young talent that just got called up last season or should be up this year. While the Cubs are likely a few years away from World Series contention it’s not all that insane to think they could win their division this year or at least a wild card spot.
St. Louis Cardinals: How is the pitching rotation going to pitch?
The Cardinals rotation has been a strong point on the team for years now but is it going to remain as such in 2015? Adam Wainwright has been a workhorse in that rotation for years having pitched at least 227 innings in four of the last five seasons while amassing a career 3.01 ERA. However he is now 33 so how much longer can he keep up this dominance? You also have youngster Michael Wacha who has been very impressive through two seasons but suffered a shoulder injury last year. While he claims to be healthy shoulder injuries are always a tricky thing and you just never know until he’s back pitching in real games how the shoulder is going to hold up.
Even though Lance Lynn put up a career year last year his FIP and other peripherals suggest he was lucky last year and his numbers should regress a little bit closer to where they have been throughout his career. Then the Cardinals traded youngster Shelby Miller which creates serious questions at the beck end of the rotation. If Wacha and Wainwirght are both healthy and their normal selves the Cardinals should be fine but if not that back end of the rotation could really end up haunting them.
3) Pittsburgh Pirates: Do the Pirates have enough to continue making the playoffs?
The Pirates have been in the playoffs the last couple of years but have yet to make a significant run. When you consider that plus the fact that they failed to really add many significant pieces during the offseason the Cardinals are going to have a tough time getting back into the playoffs. The teams inside the Pirates division have made significant improvements as they look to move the Pirates aside and squeeze into the playoffs themselves. The Pirates always seem to find a way to win, but this year may prove to be too difficult, as they may find themselves watching the playoffs this time around.
Milwaukee Brewers: Can the Brewers prevent another appearance of the collapse of 2014?
After spending most of 2014 in first place the Brewers had an epic collapse that saw them missing the playoffs entirely. The Brewers are bringing back essentially the same team from last year. Part of the Brewers collapse was probably linked to the thumb injury that saw Ryan Braun having the worst season of his career. If he can stay healthy, and if the Brewers can get contributions from some of their young starting pitchers they have a shot to make it as a wild card team.
Cincinnati Reds: What is the starting rotation gong to look like?
The Reds have been a talented team for years but for some reason continue to under-perform. Now they have question marks on a spot on the team that has been a strongpoint for years. Atop their rotation the Reds still have Johnny Cueto for one more year, who is one of the best pitchers in baseball, but after that there are some concerns and question marks. The Reds traded Mat Latos and Alfredo Simon who were key contributors last year, and went on to have excellent seasons. Simon actually had the best season of his career on his way to dominating in the nation league. This means the Reds number tow pitcher is Mike Leake who is a solid if unspectacular pitcher. He had one of the better years of his career last season with a career high in strikeouts with 164 and the second lowest ERA of his career at 3.70. After Leake though things begin to get dicey.
The Reds have Homer Bailey who has been a consistent number three pitcher the last three years for the Reds but that’s all he is at best is a solid number three. A year after Tony Cingrani dominated he did a complete 180 and pitched to an ERA over 4.00. The jury is still out on this youngster so who knows what Cingrani the Reds will get this year. Then there is Anthony DeSclafani who is one of the Reds top prospects. If the Reds have any hope of competing they are going to need huge contributions form the back end of their rotation.