Cubs vs NL Central: Who will win the division in 2021?on February 26, 2021 at 4:00 pm

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(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The NL Central Division is one of the most intriguing divisions in all of baseball. Every team seems to be pretty good besides the rebuilding Pittsburgh Pirates. However, as good as the other four teams are, none of them stick out as wildly better than the others. The Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, and Milwaukee Brewers are all teams that could win the division based on different things happening. Of course, illness and injury amongst other things could happen but you have to look at the rosters as they are right now.

We don’t know what is going to happen with some players who are near the ends of contracts but for now, the rosters are what they are. Obviously, if the Cubs lost any of Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, or Willson Contreras, that will force their chances of winning to take a hit. Right now, it sounds like they are trying to compete with the best of them this season. We don’t know what will happen beyond 2021 but they look like a pretty good team going into the year.

The biggest question mark for the Cubs right now is their pitching. They have Kyle Hendricks who is awesome and could lead any rotation but there isn’t enough behind him. They traded Yu Darvish and lost Jon Lester and Jose Quintana to free agency. It is going to come down to the guys taking those spots elevating their play.

What are the Chicago Cubs’ chances in the division?

The big wrench in the division this year is the St. Louis Cardinals. They were already a pretty good team but they made the big trade of the offseason when they acquired Nolan Arenado from the Colorado Rockies. He is one of the best players in all of baseball so that really gives them a boost. As we stand right now, you have to project them to be the winner of the division.

The Brewers have a player in the same stratosphere as Arenado in Christian Yelich. He struggled mightily in 2020 but in 2018 and 2019, you can argue he was right there with Mike Trout as the best hitter in the game. If he can get back to his elite level that we have seen, and there is no reason to think he can’t, the Brewers will get a major boost.

The Reds still have some really good players but it is hard to see them actually competing for the division as it stands right now. They have a chance because this division might be won by the team who reaches 85 games first but if the Cubs or Cardinals won 90, nobody should be surprised. The only team that has absolutely no chance is the Pirates.

Hot: The Cubs have some question marks with their rotation

Pre-exhibition standings prediction:

1. St. Louis Cardinals

2. Chicago Cubs

3. Milwaukee Brewers

4. Cincinnati Reds

5. Pittsburgh Pirates

The Nolan Arenado situation propels the Cardinals above the rest. The Cubs have some question marks but they still have some really good players. Milwaukee and Cincinnati will each be projected to have good years but it is hard to see them finishing on top. If the Cubs get bounce-back years from their star players they could make a run at the division but a lot needs to go right. At a minimum, this is going to be a very fun division to watch.

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