Thought of the day: Who will have the better season? Mike Trout or Bryce Harper?
The NL Central division will end in the same order this season as this it did last season. This division has my pick as the NL Champion and a team that will contest for the second Wild Card seed. The other three teams will have mediocre to awful seasons that will result in all three of their managers getting fired. My predictions below.
1) Cincinnati Reds: The Reds are another complete team with great pitching and a dynamic offense. First off, I will make it clear and say that first baseman, Joey Votto is the best overall player in the National League. He hits for average, power, and is the most clutch player in all of baseball. His defense at first is unparalleled to every other first basemen aside from Mark Texeria of the Yankees. This season they will feature new outfielder Shin-Soo Choo and hope to have a productive season from power hitter, Jay Bruce. Moving former big time closer Aroldis Chapman to the starting rotation is a HUGE injury risk but he will compliment star, Johnny Cueto very nicely.
2) St. Louis Cardinals: The surprising team in the playoffs last year, beating out the Braves and the Nationals to make it all the way to the NL Conference championship only to lose to the future World Series champion, San Francisco Giants. There is no doubt in my mind that catcher, Yadier Molina will have another monster season, both offensively and defensively, and will become the best catcher in the game. But with the injury to veteran pitcher Chris Carpenter (AGAIN), and a somewhat healthy pitcher in Adam Wainwright, this team will finish above .500 but won't will fail to grab the second Wild Card spot. They will make a fight for it toward then end of the season but a lack of pitching depth will lead to a disappointing end to the season.
3) Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers fate lies in the hands of superstar left fielder Ryan Braun who was busted for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) for the second consecutive season. If Braun is proved guilty for PEDs then he will be suspended 50 games by the league. Braun is the heart and sole of the Brewers, without him in the lineup the Brewers will not fair well against any team. hey have one good starter in Yovani Gallardo and an incredibly shaky relief core. But if Braun is proven innocent, then the Brew Crew will have a decent season finishing a few games above .500 but will ultimately fail to make the playoffs by a wide margin. Since this is Braun's second connection to PEDs in two years, things don't look good for the Brewers. I am going on a limb saying that the Brew Crew end in third place.
4) Pittsburgh Pirates: There is no doubt in my mind that center fielder Andrew McCutchen is one of the best overall players in the game today, but the man cannot carry a team on his back without a little support. He needs his fellow players to step up in a huge way so that he can share the load of a grieving city. The Pirates have had a record under .500 for 20 STRAIGHT YEARS. That is probably the saddest statistic I have ever read and it's not going to get any better for them until they find a bigger bat to sign and get the pitching in order. The rotation needs 2 or 3 more quality to help A.J. Burnett and James McDonald. If Pedro Alvarez and Neil Walker step up into the spotlight look for the Pirates to overtake the Brewers in the division late in the season, but as for now, I highly doubt it will happen. Poor Andrew McCutchen...
5) Chicago Cubs: The city of Chicago is starting to hate the Cubs, well at least I would be if I were them. This team added some pitching depth in the starting rotation this off season adding Edwin Jackson and Scott Feldman but their problem lies in the issue of scoring runs. Aside from shortstop Starlin Castro the Cubs were awful at getting on base last year. I can see this team losing about 85 to 90 games this season. Their hitting is down right atrocious sometimes. If they add quality infielders then it would be a huge lead forward. But until then the Cub fans will have to wait a few more years for the World Series to reach its doorsteps.
Questions or comments?
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