National League Central Update: Cubs sizzling trying to catch Brew Crew |
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. 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 first NL Central Update of the year:
Similar to last season, the Brewers were constructed to prevent runs, not really score them. The Brewers are boosted by an excellent pitching staff of Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff, and Corbin Burnes — a three-headed monster that stacks up against anybody in the National League. 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. So far this season, Milwaukee has taken two of three from the Cubs to open the year, then swept the Mets, took two of three from the Cardinals, dropped two of three to the Diamondbacks, and took three of four from the Padres. UP NEXT: This week, the Brewers are taking on the Mariners in Seattle and the Boston Red Sox. The Brewers took game one of the series 7-3 over Seattle on Monday.
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 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 started the season with a win on Opening Day over Milwaukee but dropped the next two games after that. Then the Cubs split two games with the Reds before the third game was washed out due to rain. Since then, the Cubs have not lost a series: taking two of three from the Rangers, Mariners, and most recently, the Dodgers. UP NEXT: This week, the Cubs take on the A’s in Oakland, winning game one 10-1. Then the Cubs head back to Wrigley to take on the Dodgers.
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. Bryan Reynolds is once again leading things for the Pirates with 5 home runs and 17 RBI already, to go along with a stellar .324 batting average. Jack Suwinski’s 19 home runs lead all rookies last year, but he is facing some struggles in the early going. 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. So far this season, the Pirates have dropped two of three to the Reds to open the season. Then, the Pirates swept the Red Sox and took two of three from the White Sox. The Pirates also dropped two of three to the Astros and split four with St. Louis. UP NEXT: This week, the Pirates take one the Rockies at Coors Field and then play host to the Reds this weekend for four games. The Pirates took game one 14-3 over Colorado on Monday.
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. The Reds opened the season taking two of three from the Pirates and then split two games with the Cubs. After that the Reds dropped two of three to the Phillies and were swept by the Braves. Then the Phillies came to town and the Reds split four with the Phils. UP NEXT: This week the Reds take on the Rays at home and then travel to Pittsburgh for the weekend. The Reds beat the Rays in game 1, 8-1.
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. On the mound Jack Flaherty, Miles Mikolas and Jordan Montgomery has been the top three - but as faced their fair share of struggles so far. Flaherty is starting to come back into form as well. So far this season, St. Louis has taken two of three form the Blue Jays, gotten swept by the Braves, has dropped two of three to the Brewers, taken two of three from the Rockies and split a four game series with Pittsburgh. UP NEXT: This week, the Redbirds play the Diamondbacks at home and Mariners on the road. They lost game one of the series 6-3 against Arizona. Stay tuned all year for updates on the NL Central.Milwaukee Brewers 12-5
Chicago Cubs 9-6 (2.0 games back)
Pittsburgh Pirates 10-7 (2.0 games back)
Cincinnati Reds 7-9 (4.5 games back)
St. Louis Cardinals 7-10 (5 games back)
