NL Central Standings Projections

Posted by Anthony Romano.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (92-70) 

CINCINNATI REDS (84-78) 

MILWAUKEE BREWERS (81-81) 

CHICAGO CUBS (75-87) 

PITTSBURGH PIRATES (72-90) 

HOUSTON ASTROS (60-102)

The St. Louis Cardinals have had plenty of changes during the offseason. You may have heard Albert Pujols signed in Los Angeles with the Angels and Tony LaRussa retired after winning the world series last year. New coach, Mike Matheny, will look to lead an Albert-less Cardinals team back into the postseason. The hardest part will be finding a replacement for Pujols. Though no one is expected to put up the numbers Pujols has put up during his career in St. Louis, Lance Berkman and Carlos Beltran are possible candidates for the number three spot in the lineup as long as they can stay healthy. Adam Wainwright will return to the rotation after missing the entire 2011 season while recovering from Tommy John Surgery. He will provide an immediate upgrade to the starting rotation as the ace looks to get back to his old ways along with Chris Carpenter.

The Cincinnati Reds finished in the bottom half of the league in E.R.A last season. That number figures to get better after they acquired Mat Latos from the San Diego Padres in the offseason in exchange for Edison Volquez. The Reds are also expected to make young phenom Aroldis Chapman a starter before the season begins. Great American Ballpark is considered to be a hitter’s park and the Reds sure do have some hitters. Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, and Jay Bruce lead an offense that ranks inside the top ten in most offensive categories. The Reds may need to ride their offense if they want to have a chance at making the playoffs this season.

The Milwaukee Brewers are still waiting on a decision to be made whether or not MVP outfielder Ryan Braun will be guilty of testing positive for performance enhancing drugs (PED’s). If Braun is found guilty, he must sit out the first fifty games of the regular season. Since Prince Fielder signed with the Detroit Tigers, this means that the Brewers could be without their two star players from last year for over 25% of the season. The Brewers will most certainly need to ride their starting pitching, who were surprisingly durable last year. The Brewers only needed six starters to get through the rigorous 162 game schedule. Of course, all of this depends on if Ryan Braun can play in the first fifty games or not. That is certainly a pretty big “if” that the Brewers are facing.

The Chicago Cubs are arguably the most unlucky franchise in sports. They have not won a world series title since 1908, which is a span of 103 years. Theo Epstein took on the task of being the Cubs new general manager and looks to rebuild the organization. The process may take some time, but Epstein knows what it takes to win from his days in Boston. The offense is not as bad as people may think, with the likes of Alfonso Soriano, Marlon Byrd, and Starlin Castro leading the attack. It’s the Cubs pitching that has really let them down. Ryan Dempster has faired well over his career in Chicago and Matt Garza did well in his first season last year. But the Cubs rotation after these two is a toss up and the other starters in the rotation will need to step up for the Cubs. Carlos Marmol, the Cubs closer, must reduce his wildness in order for him to be an elite closer in the league.

The Pittsburgh Pirates need help all over the field, both offensively and in pitching. The Pirates just completed a trade for starter A.J Burnett from the Yankees, which will help, but that is just the beginning. The offense has a few bright spots in Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker, but will need much more help to be able to move up in the division standings. Joel Hanrahan is one of the best closers in the MLB, but his chances are scarce as the Pirates often don't have many leads.

The Houston Astros sported the league’s worst record last season finishing at an abysmal 56-106. The Astros can only hope to improve on that record as they develop their young players all over the field. Carlos Lee will be a veteran presence for the offense as the Astros are clearly in a rebuilding phase. The pitching staff, led by Brett Myers, isn’t half bad. Bud Norris sported an impressive 8.52 k/9 innings last year which was good for 18th overall. Houston will definitely need to ride their starting pitching as they look for run support throughout the season.