Race For the National league Central division
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The National League (NL) Central is a fairly weak division. The top two teams are barely above .500: the Milwaukee Brewers being 34-29 and the Pittsburgh Pirates being 32-29. The best and worst teams are only eight games apart and with the way baseball goes, one hot streak could mean someone else is on the top. It’s still early in the season, but looking at the sample size so far, certain teams have better hope and luck for who’s going to be on top come October.
Milwaukee Brewers
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The Brewers are currently on top of the NL Central and have been since about early May. There were spots when they dropped out of first place, but since May, they have remained pretty consistent. They have had a strong starting rotation with the best division ERA at 4.04, along with a decent bullpen. Once Brandon Woodruff gets back on the mound post All-Star break, the starting staff is going to look that much stronger. The main thing that could hurt the Brewers and their spot at the top of the division is their offensive production. They have a run differential of -15, and the worst batting statistics of any of the division teams, with a batting average of .231 and an OPS of .688. The Brewers have been mainly getting production from the top of the order, but have not been getting much from the young guys at the bottom of the order. To be able to keep their spot in the division, which is definitely possible, they need to be able to produce from spots up and down the lineup, which they don’t have right now.
Pittsburgh Pirates
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Going into the season, it seemed incredibly unlikely that the Pirates would be in second place in the division going into June. But this team has been fun, something that hasn’t been true of Pirates teams of late. Andrew McCutchen returns to his MVP form. Guys have been stepping up, even without their young superstar Oneil Cruz, both young and veteran players have been hitting and stealing bases (they have the most stolen bases in the NL at 68). Pirates pitching has been pretty good, posting a division best bullpen ERA of 3.69, an overall ERA of 4.12, and a division best 18 saves. The main problem with the Pirates is their streakiness, they started out 20-9 in April and then went 8-18 in May. This is just how baseball goes sometimes, but it seems to have an impact on these Pirate players, but right now, they are only a game back, so if they get hot and stay hot towards the end of the season, look for them to take a grab at that top spot.
Cincinnati Reds
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Right now, the Reds have the opportunity to be one of the most fun teams to watch. With the promotion of Elly de la Cruz, the Reds have basically an entire lineup of either rookies or really young players that are just hungry to play. They have the division bests offensively in batting average at .255 and on base percentage at .332. The team overall has a lot of speed, as seen with their stolen base numbers at 63, and is clearly just excited to play and win. Their main problem is the pitching, which has a division high ERA of 5.04 and have allowed a division high 326 runs, putting their run differential at -36. They are coming off a great series win from the Dodgers and it will be interesting to see where this team is towards the end of June, when they are playing more difficult teams, but if they stay close in the standings, hope is alive for the Cincinnati Reds come October.
Chicago Cubs
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The Chicago Cubs seem to have the right pieces to be good: Gold Gloves across the field, an elite Marcus Stroman, a great middle infield in Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner, but it hasn’t translated into their performance. They have been struggling with leverage hitting because with runners in scoring position, they can’t seem to hit. The rookies they have brought up have been struggling at the plate. Even some of their more veteran players, such as Trey Mancini and Tucker Barnhart, have been struggling. It doesn’t help that even in the situations when they do have a lead, their bullpen seems to blow it. They have the worst bullpen ERA at 4.58 and have the least amount of saves in the NL at 8. The Cubs just don’t seem to have the right pieces to really compete this season because at 7.5 games back, they simply haven’t been playing like a team that has a real shot at the division title.
St. Louis Cardinals
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The St. Louis Cardinals have been one of the most surprising teams this season, and not in a good way. For an organization that prides itself on its winning and lack of drama, this season has been about the exact opposite of that. Both their offense and pitching have been struggling. This team was looking to be the runaway winner of the division, but with the lack of power coming from the mound and the field, it has been difficult. Close games have also been a real challenge because even with their 26-37 record, they still have a positive run differential, and are just unable to score when they need to most. Right now, they are 8 games back, and with all the talent on this team, it really did feel like they were too good to fail. Yet, they continue to surprise because at this rate, unless they start getting it together, winning ball games now and fast, it doesn’t look like the Cardinals have a chance up top.
