* – indicates new to team

+ – indicates injury

1. Milwaukee Brewers

Last year they were within one game of reaching the World Series. They’re motivated to cash in this year.

2. St. Louis Cardinals

They are instantly back in contention with Paul Goldschmidt in the middle of their lineup.

3. Chicago Cubs

This could be an interesting year as manager Joe Maddon doesn’t have an extension and there are rumblings about the future of Kris Bryant.

4. Pittsburgh Pirates

By no means are they among the worst teams in the National League. They just play in a stacked division.

5. Cincinnati Reds

With the moves they made they could be classified as a ‘sleeper’ team this season.

Player to Watch: OF Christian Yelich – Milwaukee Brewers

Best Acquisition: 1B Paul Goldschmidt – St. Louis Cardinals

New Kid on the Block: 2B Keston Hiura – Milwaukee Brewers

Brewers Lineup

1. CF Lorenzo Cain

2. RF Christian Yelich

3. LF Ryan Braun

4. 1B Jesus Aguilar

5. 2B Mike Moustakas

6. C Yasmani Grandal*

7. 3B Travis Shaw

8. SS Orlando Arcia

Bench

INF Hernan Perez

1B/OF Eric Thames

OF Ben Gamel*

Rotation

1. Jhoulys Chacin

2. Freddy Peralta

3. Zach Davies

4. Jimmy Nelson

5. Brandon Woodruff

Setup

Josh Hader

Closer

Jeremy Jeffress

Manager

Craig Counsell

Cardinals Lineup

1. 3B Matt Carpenter

2. CF Harrison Bader

3. 1B Paul Goldschmidt*

4. LF Marcell Ozuna

5. C Yadier Molina

6. SS Paul DeJong

7. 2B Kolten Wong

8. RF Dexter Fowler

Bench

INF Jedd Gyorko

OF/1B Jose Martinez

C Matt Wieters*

Rotation

1. Miles Mikolas

2. Carlos Martinez

3. Jack Flaherty

4. Michael Wacha

5. Adam Wainwright

Setup

Andrew Miller*

Closer

Jordan Hicks

Manager

Mike Shildt

Cubs Lineup

1. 2B Ben Zobrist

2. 3B Kris Bryant

3. 1B Anthony Rizzo

4. SS Javier Baez

5. C Willson Contreras

6. LF Kyle Schwarber

7. RF Jason Heyward

8. CF Albert Almora Jr.

Bench

INF/OF Daniel Descalso*

INF David Bote

C Victor Caratini

Rotation

1. Jon Lester

2. Yu Darvish

3. Cole Hamels

4. Kyle Hendricks

5. Jose Quintana

Setup

Pedro Strop

Closer

Brandon Morrow

Manager

Joe Maddon

Pirates Lineup

1. CF Starling Marte

2. 2B Adam Frazier

3. RF Gregory Polanco

4. 1B Josh Bell

5. LF Corey Dickerson

6. C Francisco Cervelli

7. 3B Jung Ho Kang

8. SS Erik Gonzalez

Bench

3B/1B Colin Moran

OF Lonnie Chisenhall*

C Elias Diaz

Rotation

1. Jameson Taillon

2. Chris Archer

3. Trevor Williams

4. Joe Musgrove

5. Jordan Lyles

Setup

Keone Kela

Closer

Felipe Vazquez

Manager

Clint Hurdle

Reds Lineup

1. SS Jose Peraza

2. 2B Scooter Gennett

3. 1B Joey Votto

4. 3B Eugenio Suarez

5. LF Matt Kemp*

6. RF Yasiel Puig*

7. CF Scott Schebler

8. C Tucker Barnhart

Bench

OF Jesse Winker

C Curt Casali

INF Jose Iglesias*

Rotation

1. Sonny Gray*

2. Alex Wood*

3. Luis Castillo

4. Tanner Roark*

5. Anthony DeSclafani

Setup

Jared Hughes

Closer

Raisel Iglesias

Manager

David Bell*