St. Louis Cardinals: NL Central standings predictions

The St. Louis Cardinals come into the 2018 season looking to make it back to the postseason after coming up a bit short in 2017.

With Opening Day just hours away, I decided to go out on a limb and make some predictions for the NL Central and the St. Louis Cardinals.

1st Place: Chicago Cubs (95-67)

Chicago is the obvious choice for first place as they are an absolute powerhouse. Former NL Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo are one of the best corner infield duos in the game, and the middle infield is not too bad either.

Kyle Schwarber will be interesting to watch as he came into Spring Training looking completely different as he looks to have a more consistent season. Add in Willson Contreras and a full season of Ian Happ and this Cubs lineup from top to bottom is scarier than last season.

Pitching was the downfall of the 2017 Cubs as no starter had an ERA under 3.00, but Kyle Hendricks did have a 3.03 ERA. With Jake Arrieta moving on to the Philadelphia Phillies, Yu Darvish was signed who had an ERA of 3.18 if you take out his two atrocious starts (8 IP 17 ER).

Wade Davis joined the stacked bullpen movement in Colorado and Hector Rondon joined the defending champions, which adds more question marks to the Cubs’ pitching. Pitching should improve, not enough to get 100 wins, but enough to lock up the Central as the hitting will be a force like it has been for the past few seasons.

2nd Place: St. Louis Cardinals (86-76)

The St. Louis Cardinals are not a team to be slept on despite not being as aggressive like many wanted.

Marcell Ozuna joins Tommy Pham and Dexter Fowler to form a solid outfield. Kolten Wong and Paul DeJong are an underrated middle infield and if Matt Carpenter can rediscover his love for a high batting average, the team should be fine offensively.

Just like their rivals, pitching will be something to keep an eye on. Carlos Martinez is the unquestioned ace, but after him is a world of uncertainty.

Miles Mikolas has had an up and down spring but he could be the most underrated signing of the offseason as he was arguably a better pitcher in Japan than Shohei Ohtani.

Michael Wacha and Adam Wainwright are huge question marks and Luke Weaver did a solid job in 2017, but only pitched 60.1 innings. The return of Alex Reyes should give the club a much-needed boost hopefully sometime around May 1st.

The bullpen received a much-needed overhaul, but one that did not involve the still unsigned Greg Holland or the aforementioned Wade Davis. Instead, hello Cardinal killer Bud Norris and the man traded for Khalil Greene, Luke Gregerson, who will start the year on the disabled list along with Wainwright.

Dominic Leone has shown he can be a reliable arm and Tyler Lyons should improve on his 2017 campaign. While the St. Louis Cardinals do not possess flashy names, the names they do have should be enough to get back into the playoffs.

3rd Place: Milwaukee Brewers (84-78)

Milwaukee was one of the biggest surprises in 2017 as they nearly sneaked into the postseason. To help build upon the team, the Brewers acquired Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain but did lose top prospect Lewis Brinson in the process.

Now the Brewers will have an even stronger offense as three players had 30+ home runs last season (Eric Thames, Travis Shaw, and Domingo Santana). Add in two great hitters in Yelich and Cain who hit 18 and 15 home run respectively, and Milwaukee looks like they could make a run at first in the Central.

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The deadly combination of Josh Hader and Corey Knebel will be back, but Hader should get into the rotation at some point.

When that happens, the young left hander will join Chase Anderson, who came out of nowhere to have a fantastic 2017. Jimmy Nelson will miss a decent chunk of the season as he is recovering from surgery on his right rotator cuff and anterior labrum.

Yovani Gallardo is back for a comeback tour but nostalgia, a free agent splash, and a trade will not be enough to get the Brewers higher than third.

4th Place: Pittsburgh Pirates (73-89)

For the first time since 2008, Andrew McCutchen will not be playing at PNC Park. After having a “bad” year in 2016, Cutch improved and that was enough to raise his trade value to a level that satisfied the Pirates’ front office.

Now without the face of the franchise, Pittsburgh will towards players such as Josh Bell and Gregory Polanco to step into that role. Gerrit Cole is gone as well as he was dealt to the Astros, but that will allow for Tyler Glasnow to get an extended look at the major league level.

Felipe Rivero was one of the best relievers in baseball last season and now will be the full time closer, but other than that nothing is too certain.

While the Pirates do not have a terrible lineup, it could easily be better and there are questions marks all around their pitching staff. Players like Bell and Polanco will continue to shine, but not enough to overcome the Cubs, Cardinals, or Brewers.

5th Place: Cincinnati Reds (67-95)

Power and Joey Votto. That is the definition of the Cincinnati Reds. Six different players hit 20+ home runs and almost three of those players drove in 100 runs. All of this headlined by Scooter Gennett, who nearly doubled his 2016 home run total and RBI total. If Billy Hamilton can find a way to get on base more, this Reds offense can take the next step to becoming a force to be reckoned with.

Pitching is where the Reds come up short as five out of six pitchers who started 14 or more games had an ERA of 4.45 or higher. Luis Castillo and Raisel Iglesias were the lone bright spots. If Homer Bailey can rediscover his 2012-2014 success and stay healthy, the Reds can have a good 1-2 with himself and Castillo. Overall, the offense should allow for the Reds to pick up a few more victories than last season.

Next: Ideal roster additions out of spring

The St. Louis Cardinals should be back in the playoffs, bringing the world back to normal and putting Cardinals fans’ minds somewhat at ease.

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