Lets get to the NL Central for my MLB Predictions.
First, some music to listen to: Through the Wire by Kanye West
By far Kanye’s best song and the one that made me hope that he would be a revolutionary force in rap music. Unfortunately, this hasn’t happened but he does reside in the city of my NL Central Champions.
Here’s the condensed version for you out there that just want a quick read.
NL East: Philadelphia
NL Central: Chicago
NL West: Los Angeles
Wild Card: New York
NL Champs: Chicago
NL MVP (top-five):
1) David Wright, New York (I can already hear you out there about New York bias)
2) Albert Pujols, St. Louis (I know he’s going to win it but lets go out on a limb a little)
3) Ryan Howard, Philadelphia
4) Hanley Ramirez, Florida
5) Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles
NL Cy Young (top-five):
1) Carlos Zambrano, Chicago
2) Johan Santana, New York
3) Brandon Webb, Arizona
4) Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati
5) Cole Hamels, Philadelphia
NL Manager of the Year: Tony LaRussa, St. Louis
NL Rookie of the Year: Cameron Maybin, Florida
NL surprise teams relative to experts’ expectations (top-five):
1) Cincinnati
2) San Francisco
3) Atlanta
4) St. Louis
5) Houston
NL disappointing teams relative to experts’ expectations (top-five):
1) Atlanta
2) Chicago (will still win division but not run away with it)
2) New York
4) Arizona
5) Pittsburgh
NL Worst Team: Pittsburgh
NL Central:
1) Chicago
Yea: Clearly the best team in the division. Have three legit MVP candidates in Lee, Ramirez and Soriano. This should be Zambrano’s year to mature and win himself a Cy Young. Look at that starting rotation, Lilly and Marshall are your fourth and fifth starters, no one can match that depth. This is the best rotation in the entire league. Bullpen is solid with two closers in Marmol and Gregg. Like the addition of Milton Bradley. Fukudome should improve in second year in America. Pinella knows how to manage well with this group.
Ney: Can they get over last year’s disappointment? The bats were silenced in the playoffs last year, will that happen again in the postseason? Zambrano seems like he’s due for an injury plagued year and if that happens, they’re not going to make the World Series. Can you expect the types of seasons from rest of the rotation this year? A lot went right for them. Soriano is starting to become brittle. Milton Bradley is certifiably crazy, he can destroy a team. Fukudome can’t seem to crack starting lineup and ended up in doghouse of Pinella, not a good sign. Didn’t like Marmol not being named closer for Gregg.
Fantasy focus: Love Soto at catcher
2) Cincinnati
Yea: Youth movement is in full swing. Lots of good parts. It begins with the rotation, especially Volquez and Cueto, who are both darkhorse Cy Young picks. Yes, you read that correctly. Herang, Arroyo and Owings are good rotation guys. Votto at first and Jay Bruce in the outfield are the cornerstones for franchise fielders. Brandon Phillips is an excellent second baseman. Ramon Hernandez is a good catcher. Cordero is good for at least 30 saves.
Ney: With youth comes potential for fall from grace. Volquez and Cueto wore down last year, can happen again. Concerned some about reliance on Herang to produce. Phillips is good but is he really an elite player the Reds need? Was last year an aberration for Cordero?
Fantasy focus: I’ve seen Cueto go way too late in fantasy drafts. He is undervalued in a major way. Cordero and Hernandez are worth picking up also.
3) St. Louis
Yea: Albert Pujols. Enough said. Really like Khalil Greene revival in St. Louis, we’ve seen this before with McGuire, Rolen, Edmonds, something about that city makes players comfortable. Best outfield in the National League? Three guys with 30+ home run, 100 RBIs potential. Decent rotation, excellent year last season from Wainwright.
Ney: Some guys had career-years last year and can they keep it up for another season. Don’t like their situation at catcher, second base, third base, and the entire bullpen. Don’t know if Carpenter can make it back completely from injury. If he’s healthy, they can do some damage, but I don’t see that happening.
Fantasy focus: Run, not walk, to pick up Khalil Greene.
4) Milwaukee
Yea: They’re going to score some runs. Fielder and Braun are studs. I think that Weeks will continue to develop into a competent second baseman. Like J.J. Hardy and am jumping on the Corey Hart train. Potential positive vibes from making playoffs last year.
Ney: I can’t cosign on that pitching staff. We need to see a lot more from Bill Hall, Hardy and especially Weeks.
Fantasy focus: Take a chance on Weeks. For a second baseman, he does have some value.
5) Houston:
Yea: Here are the positives. Berkman can rake, Lee can get you some power numbers, Pence gives you some nice numbers and Oswalt is a game pitcher. Valverde is ok as a closer.
Ney: Here are the negatives. Pretty much everything else. Lineup and starting rotation lacks depth.
6) Pittsburgh
Yea: I like the LaRoche brothers, at least the story of them playing together. Jack Wilson is a decent shortstop.
Ney: This is going to be a very long year for them. Its sad because I like the city and the stadium is apparently beautiful. They have no hope.
Fantasy focus: Try to not have any Pirates on your team.
First, some music to listen to: Through the Wire by Kanye West
By far Kanye’s best song and the one that made me hope that he would be a revolutionary force in rap music. Unfortunately, this hasn’t happened but he does reside in the city of my NL Central Champions.
Here’s the condensed version for you out there that just want a quick read.
NL East: Philadelphia
NL Central: Chicago
NL West: Los Angeles
Wild Card: New York
NL Champs: Chicago
NL MVP (top-five):
1) David Wright, New York (I can already hear you out there about New York bias)
2) Albert Pujols, St. Louis (I know he’s going to win it but lets go out on a limb a little)
3) Ryan Howard, Philadelphia
4) Hanley Ramirez, Florida
5) Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles
NL Cy Young (top-five):
1) Carlos Zambrano, Chicago
2) Johan Santana, New York
3) Brandon Webb, Arizona
4) Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati
5) Cole Hamels, Philadelphia
NL Manager of the Year: Tony LaRussa, St. Louis
NL Rookie of the Year: Cameron Maybin, Florida
NL surprise teams relative to experts’ expectations (top-five):
1) Cincinnati
2) San Francisco
3) Atlanta
4) St. Louis
5) Houston
NL disappointing teams relative to experts’ expectations (top-five):
1) Atlanta
2) Chicago (will still win division but not run away with it)
2) New York
4) Arizona
5) Pittsburgh
NL Worst Team: Pittsburgh
NL Central:
1) Chicago
Yea: Clearly the best team in the division. Have three legit MVP candidates in Lee, Ramirez and Soriano. This should be Zambrano’s year to mature and win himself a Cy Young. Look at that starting rotation, Lilly and Marshall are your fourth and fifth starters, no one can match that depth. This is the best rotation in the entire league. Bullpen is solid with two closers in Marmol and Gregg. Like the addition of Milton Bradley. Fukudome should improve in second year in America. Pinella knows how to manage well with this group.
Ney: Can they get over last year’s disappointment? The bats were silenced in the playoffs last year, will that happen again in the postseason? Zambrano seems like he’s due for an injury plagued year and if that happens, they’re not going to make the World Series. Can you expect the types of seasons from rest of the rotation this year? A lot went right for them. Soriano is starting to become brittle. Milton Bradley is certifiably crazy, he can destroy a team. Fukudome can’t seem to crack starting lineup and ended up in doghouse of Pinella, not a good sign. Didn’t like Marmol not being named closer for Gregg.
Fantasy focus: Love Soto at catcher
2) Cincinnati
Yea: Youth movement is in full swing. Lots of good parts. It begins with the rotation, especially Volquez and Cueto, who are both darkhorse Cy Young picks. Yes, you read that correctly. Herang, Arroyo and Owings are good rotation guys. Votto at first and Jay Bruce in the outfield are the cornerstones for franchise fielders. Brandon Phillips is an excellent second baseman. Ramon Hernandez is a good catcher. Cordero is good for at least 30 saves.
Ney: With youth comes potential for fall from grace. Volquez and Cueto wore down last year, can happen again. Concerned some about reliance on Herang to produce. Phillips is good but is he really an elite player the Reds need? Was last year an aberration for Cordero?
Fantasy focus: I’ve seen Cueto go way too late in fantasy drafts. He is undervalued in a major way. Cordero and Hernandez are worth picking up also.
3) St. Louis
Yea: Albert Pujols. Enough said. Really like Khalil Greene revival in St. Louis, we’ve seen this before with McGuire, Rolen, Edmonds, something about that city makes players comfortable. Best outfield in the National League? Three guys with 30+ home run, 100 RBIs potential. Decent rotation, excellent year last season from Wainwright.
Ney: Some guys had career-years last year and can they keep it up for another season. Don’t like their situation at catcher, second base, third base, and the entire bullpen. Don’t know if Carpenter can make it back completely from injury. If he’s healthy, they can do some damage, but I don’t see that happening.
Fantasy focus: Run, not walk, to pick up Khalil Greene.
4) Milwaukee
Yea: They’re going to score some runs. Fielder and Braun are studs. I think that Weeks will continue to develop into a competent second baseman. Like J.J. Hardy and am jumping on the Corey Hart train. Potential positive vibes from making playoffs last year.
Ney: I can’t cosign on that pitching staff. We need to see a lot more from Bill Hall, Hardy and especially Weeks.
Fantasy focus: Take a chance on Weeks. For a second baseman, he does have some value.
5) Houston:
Yea: Here are the positives. Berkman can rake, Lee can get you some power numbers, Pence gives you some nice numbers and Oswalt is a game pitcher. Valverde is ok as a closer.
Ney: Here are the negatives. Pretty much everything else. Lineup and starting rotation lacks depth.
6) Pittsburgh
Yea: I like the LaRoche brothers, at least the story of them playing together. Jack Wilson is a decent shortstop.
Ney: This is going to be a very long year for them. Its sad because I like the city and the stadium is apparently beautiful. They have no hope.
Fantasy focus: Try to not have any Pirates on your team.
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