Dennis Wierzbicki - USA Today Sports
Dennis Wierzbicki - USA Today Sports

Cubs projected as heavy favorites in NL Central


by - Senior Editor -

The 2018 projections are in, and it's looking great if you are a Cubs fan.

USA Today (92-70), CBSSports.com (93.5-68.5), Baseball Prospectus (92-70), and FanGraphs (94-68) all have the Cubs winning between 92 and 94 games.

CubsHQ.com's Chris Roth wrote about his projection of the Cubs winning 98 games this morning.

"The core of this lineup should continue to score as they scored over 800 runs in 2017, without a real leadoff hitter," Roth said. "The players will be recharged, and Chili Davis’ impact will be felt, as the numbers with RISP will improve. The early April schedule with games vs. Miami, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Atlanta will get this team off on the right foot. Playing eight of the first ten games in dome stadiums should warm up their bats. Even with the frequent injuries in a 162 game season, this team has enough depth to sustain itself over the season and will be ready to avenge the NLDS series loss to a Dodger team that might still have the Game 7 hangover lingering. Barring any significant rotation setbacks, I fully expect this team to return to the World Series in October."

It appears that the Cubs are the heavy favorites to once again win the National League Central barring any significant injuries to the central core of players.

The ballclub is also primed for a possible return to the World Series this year as the team has odds at 7/1 of winning the 2018 World Series.

Hold on to your hats because it's going to be a fun year in Wrigley.

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