Division Preview and Predictions: NL Central

Today's focus switches over to the NL Central, a division that is home to the reigning World Series champions, the Chicago Cubs, as well as the relentless St. Louis Cardinals, stuck in the middle Pittsburgh Pirates, up-and-coming Milwaukee Brewers, and the rebuilding Cincinnati Reds. Heading into the 2017 season, it is pretty much a slam dunk who will win the division, but there could be a surprise that happens along the way.

Here is how I expect the division to look at the conclusion of the regular season and a preview of what's to come this season for each team.

1. Chicago Cubs (NL Central Champions) - As long as everyone stays healthy and everything goes according to plan during the entire season, the Chicago Cubs will once again win the division and will likely appear in the World Series. The team is loaded with talent and depth all around the diamond at the moment, led by a terrific manager and coaching staff, and has the makings of a true dynasty. Even after losing Dexter Fowler to the rival, St. Louis Cardinals earlier this winter, Chicago's offense should still do extremely well with Kyle Schwarber, Wilson Contreras, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, and Jason Heyward. In addition, you can't forget about the extremely versatile, Ben Zobrist, either who is an asset to the team and allows Joe Maddon to experiment with different players in different positions. From a pitching standpoint, don't be surprised if Jon Lester ends the year in conversation for the NL Cy Young Award once again. Furthermore, Jake Arrieta will continue to be the beast that he is everyday he takes the mound, Kyle Hendricks will provide the team with a valuable middle of the rotation pitcher, and John Lackey will also contribute tremendously. Also, the Cubs have a very good bullpen that is deep especially now that they have, Greg Holland, on the back end to close games and a pen that will contribute at a greater level this coming season. Besides Holland, the Cubs possess Hector Rondon, Pedro Strop, and Carl Edwards Jr. as bridge options to the back end. Although the Cubs lost Aroldis Chapman and Dexter Fowler to free agency this winter, they still have plenty of depth and talent to make another division run and appear in the World Series once again in 2017.

2. St. Louis Cardinals (2nd NL Wild Card) - As is the case every year, St. Louis is known as the relentless team that has plenty of prospects who come up through their system and make an immediate impact at the big league level. Expect the same thing to happen in 2017 as the team once again competes and ends the season with the 2nd NL Wild Card. Although the news about Alex Reyes needing Tommy John surgery is a big subtraction for the team, there is still plenty of talent. In the wake of the Reyes news, St. Louis is in need of a back end starting rotation pitcher, but has plenty of internal options with Michael Wacha, Luke Weaver, Tyler Lyons, Marco Gonzales, and even Trevor Rosenthal who is currently trying to become a starter in Spring Training down in Florida. One really great asset that the Cardinals have, who will help them significantly in 2017 just like they did last year, is closer, Seung Hwan Oh. A lot of people didn't even know who Oh was last season when he burst onto the scene, but he finished the year with a 1.92 ERA in 79.2 IP, 19 saves in 23 save opportunities, and looks to put up numbers similar to those this coming season as long as he stays healthy. On the offensive side of things, St. Louis should do extremely well once again like they did last year when they finished the season 4th in runs scored with 779 in 5,548 at bats. Now that the Cardinals have Dexter Fowler as their everyday centerfielder, look for them to score even more runs and I would not be surprised if they finished 2017 in the top 3 for runs scored. In addition, St. Louis ranked first last year with 225 home runs and will certainly be able to replicate that number this season.

3. Pittsburgh Pirates - Heading into this winter, many of us expected the Pittsburgh Pirates to make some noise on the trade market by trading their star outfielder, Andrew McCutchen, to a team like the Detroit Tigers. Ultimately, that trade never came to fruition and McCutchen will likely open the season on the Pirates 25-man roster although the team said, that they as still interested in trading him, as recently as this past Monday. Looking towards 2017, expect Andrew McCutchen to rebound from last year, look for Starling Marte to make some noise in centerfield, and expect Gregory Polanco to also make a name for himself. Don't be surprised if the Pirates end up having one of the best outfields in the National League this coming season even if they end up trading away McCutchen and calling up outfield prospect, Austin Meadows, at some point. Furthermore, one of the biggest issues that the team will have to deal with right off the bat is in regards to shortstop/third baseman, Jung Ho Kang. Kang is currently going through a DUI trial and will miss some significant time in Spring Training meaning that he is going to be set back and there is no official word when he will rejoin the team. On the pitching side of things, Pittsburgh will be counting heavily on Gerrit Cole to really carry the entire rotation and be the team's ace all season long. Besides Cole, the Pirates have some other nice names such as Jameson Taillon and Chad Kuhl, but both still need to prove their worth and show that their capable of pitching at the big league level every 5th day. Although the Pirates were the center of attention heading into the winter, they won't be during the regular season as they will miss out on a playoff berth once again.

4. Milwaukee Brewers - If things don't go well for the Pirates, expect the Milwaukee Brewers to make some noise and occupy the third spot in the division. Milwaukee is still in rebuild mode and has, Ryan Braun, to deal with, but has many young players who are capable of playing at the big league level everyday. After trading reliever, Tyler Thornburg, to the Red Sox in December and receiving third baseman, Travis Shaw, in return along with two other prospects and a player to be named later, Milwaukee added another versatile player to it's roster and solidified the third base position. In addition, the team also made Chris Carter a free agent and signed first baseman, Eric Thames, to a three-year deal after Thames put up outstanding numbers while playing over in Korea. Both Thames and Shaw should contribute significantly in 2017 and don't sleep on Jonathan Villar or Orlando Arcia either up the middle. Villar is an under-the-radar second baseman at the moment and Arcia has the makings of being the next best shortstop in the game. As it stands right now, Milwaukee will open the season with Junior Guerra as their Opening Day starting pitcher. Guerra had plenty of success last season finishing the year with a 2.21 ERA in 121.2 IP and should have similar success in 2017 as long as he stays healthy. Besides Guerra, the Brewers also have Zach Davies, Jimmy Nelson, Chase Anderson, Wily Peralta, and Matt Garza. Milwaukee certainly has plenty of starting pitching depth and has more talent in their bullpen especially with the addition of closer, Neftali Feliz, this winter. Feliz has a 3.22 ERA over his 8 year MLB career in 343.1 IP, and should provide some stability this season.

5. Cincinnati Reds - Last, but certainly not least, are the Cincinnati Reds, a team that continues to be stuck in neutral. For the past couple of seasons, the Reds have gone into the season in rebuild mode and it is hard to tell what direction they are headed, but that question was sort of answered last week when the team traded fan favorite, second baseman, Brandon Phillips, to the Atlanta Braves in exchange of pitching prospects, Andrew McKirahan and Carlos Portuondo. While Phillips is gone, the team still possesses another fan favorite in Joey Votto along with Zack Cozart, Billy Hamilton, and talented leftfielder, Adam Duvall. Duvall is an exciting outfielder, who played his first complete season at the big league level last year, and made an immediate impact. In fact, Duvall appeared in the Home Run Debry out at Petco Park last season and ended the season with 33 home runs along with 103 RBI in 552 at bats. Look for Duvall to once again make a name for himself in 2017, Billy Hamilton to lead the league in stolen bases, and Joey Votto to quietly put together a nice season from an offensive standpoint in 2017. On the pitching side of things, things are a bit merky now that the team lost Homer Bailey to the DL with shoulder surgery. With that said, the Reds starting rotation will be anchored down by Anthony DeSclafani, who finished last season with a 3.28 ERA in 123.1 IP, and was the center of trade rumors at the trade deadline last year. DeSclafani will again make an impact in 2017, Brandon Finnegan will continue to prove his worth to the team, and Bronson Arroyo is back with the organization now to serve as a mentor for the team's young arms. 2017 will again be a frustrating season for Reds fans from a standings point of view, but hopefully that frustration will come to an end sooner than later.