Cubs News: National League Central Update: Trio of teams at the top |
The 2023 regular season is now underway, and what an exciting start to the year it has been. Baseball has undergone some rule changes to speed up the game and increase action, but there has been no shortage of storylines in the league and the NL Central so far this season.
Vegas picked the Cardinals as the favorite to win a division that featured a lot of roster movement over winter and through Spring. At the very least, this division is loaded with talent throughout. We at CUBSHQ are here to break down the action of the NL Central periodically as the season progresses. Here is our second NL Central Update of the year.
The Pirates were widely expected to finish last in this division over the course of the last few years, but the progress they have made over the years does not pencil them in as a bottom feeder in this division. In fact, their strong start to the 2023 season has them in first place through almost a month of baseball. Bryan Reynolds is once again leading things for the Pirates with 5 home runs and 18 RBI already, to go along with a stellar .294 batting average. Jack Suwinski’s 19 home runs lead all rookies last year, and has five dingers on the season thus far. Andrew McCutchen has also seen some success in his return to Pittsburgh and has been a strong producer in the lineup so far. O’Neil Cruz was expected by many to take a big leap this season, but he is on the injured list. Mitch Keller has been the Bucs' best starter so far, and David Bednar is still closing things down in all-star fashion. Since we last updated, the Bucs have not lost a game, sweeping the Rockies and the Reds for a seven-game winning streak. UP NEXT: This week, the Pirates take on the Dodgers at home and then travel to DC for three with the Washington Nationals.
Similar to last season, the Brewers were constructed to prevent runs, not really score them. The Brewers are boosted by the excellent pitching staff of Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff, and Corbin Burnes — a three-headed monster that stacks up against anybody in the National League. But just like last season, the Brewers have faced some injuries lately in the pitching staff. Despite not having a potent offensive attack, the Brewers have been able to string together some nice wins in the early going. Offensively, Milwaukee has been led by Rowdy Tellez and Willy Adames, similar to last season. Plus, Brian Anderson and former Brave catcher William Contreras have been welcome additions thus far. Since we last updated, the Brewers swept the Seattle Mariners for three games and dropped two of three to the Red Sox over the weekend. UP NEXT: This week, the Brewers are hosting the Tigers for three and the Angels for three.
The Cubs finished in third place in the NL Central last year and made it a point of focus over the offseason to make drastic improvements to the team — which also fit baseball’s new rules. The Cubs may have let Willson Contreras go, but they committed to long-term contract extensions with Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ, both of whom enjoyed breakout campaigns in 2022. Plus, the Cubs acquired Trey Mancini, Eric Hosmer, Cody Bellinger, Tucker Barnhart, Jameson Taillon, Brad Boxberger, and Michael Fulmer over the offseason to improve the team — plus the big ticket item of Dansby Swanson to be the team’s starting shortstop for the next seven years. In the early going, the moves have paid off. The Cubs lead the National League in runs per game and are top five in the MLB in both batting average and starters ERA. Marcus Stroman and Justin Steele have been as good as any two starters in baseball, Patrick Wisdom is tied for near the MLB lead in home runs, Nico Hoerner leads the MLB in steals, the Cubs have four qualified players hitting over .300 and have been very fun to watch so far. The Cubs swept the A’s last week and then dropped three of four to the Dodgers at Wrigley over the weekend. UP NEXT: This week, the Cubs host the Padres for three and then head to Miami for a weekend set with the Marlins.
The St. Louis Cardinals are the reigning NL Central Division Champions, but for the first time since I was born, this will be the first season that the Cardinals do not have Albert Pujols or Yadier Molina on the roster. The St. Louis Cardinals did not make a ton of noise in the offseason but did acquire former Cub Willson Contreras to be their new catcher. Jordan Walker was their top prospect and was called up to start the season, and has been an absolute stud for them early on. The offense has been led by NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt and perennial All-Star Nolan Arenado — but has certainly been boosted by Nolan Gorman’s hot start as well, who would have thought that Gorman would be leading an offense that has all-stars all over the diamond? On the mound, Jack Flaherty, Miles Mikolas, and Jordan Montgomery have been the top three - but as faced their fair share of struggles so far. Flaherty is starting to come back into form as well. Since we last updated, the Cardinals have not yet started to get back to winning ways, St. Louis has dropped two of three to both the Diamondbacks and the Mariners this week. UP NEXT: This week, the Redbirds are on the west coast, taking on the Giants and the Dodgers.
The Reds are once again expected to be one of the worst teams in the MLB early on. Fully in another rebuild. Joey Votto is the only really recognizable name on a team that had players like Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Nicholas Castellanos, Jesse Winker, and Eugenio Suarez. The Reds' claim to fame has been flame-thrower Hunter Greene, who is developing into a young ace in baseball. Offensively it has been a mixed bag thus far. Since we last updated, the Reds opened the series against Tampa Bay with a win, but lost the next two against Tampa and dropped four straight to the Pirates. UP NEXT: This week the Reds host the Texas Rangers and travel to Oakland for the weekend.Pittsburgh Pirates 16-7
Milwaukee Brewers 15-7 (0.5 games back)
Chicago Cubs 12-9 (3.0 games back)
St. Louis Cardinals 9-13 (6.5 games back)
Cincinnati Reds 7-15 (8.5 games back)
