* – indicates new to team

+ – indicates injury

1. St. Louis Cardinals

Their pitching depth is solid and their lineup has a foundation around Paul Goldschmidt.

2. Cincinnati Reds

They are the trending favorite to surprise folks around baseball. The moves they made were strategic considering their ballpark is a hitters paradise.

3. Chicago Cubs

The talent is there to clinch a Wild Card spot or even win the division, but there are questions as to what their future holds.

4. Milwaukee Brewers

If their pitching staff can match what their lineup can do then the Brewers should be contenders all the way.

5. Pittsburgh Pirates

After a steady run of success, the Pirates are starting from scratch.

Player to Watch: OF Christian Yelich – Milwaukee Brewers

Best Acquisition: 2B Mike Moustakas – Cincinnati Reds

New Kid on the Block: INF Nico Hoerner – Chicago Cubs

Cardinals Lineup

1. RF Dexter Fowler

2. 2B Kolten Wong

3. 1B Paul Goldschmidt

4. C Yadier Molina

5. SS Paul DeJong

6. 3B Tommy Edman

7. LF Tyler O’Neil

8. DH Matt Carpenter

9. CF Harrison Bader

Bench

OF Lane Thomas

C Matt Wieters

INF Edmundo Sosa

Rotation

1. Jack Flaherty

2. Dakota Hudson

3. Adam Wainwright

4. Carlos Martinez

5. Daniel Ponce de Leon

Setup

Andrew Miller

Closer

Kwang Hyun Kim*

Manager

Mike Shildt

Reds Lineup

1. CF Nick Senzel

2. 1B Joey Votto

3. 3B Eugenio Suarez

4. 2B Mike Moustakas*+

5. RF Nick Castellanos*

6. DH Jesse Winker

7. SS Freddy Galvis

8. LF Shogo Akiyama*

9. C Curt Casali

Bench

INF Kyler Farmer

OF/DH Aristides Aquino

OF Phillip Ervin

Rotation

1. Luis Castillo

2. Sonny Gray

3. Trevor Bauer

4. Wade Miley*

5. Tyler Mahle

Setup

Michael Lorenzen

Closer

Raisel Iglesias

Manager

David Bell

Cubs Lineup

1. 3B Kris Bryant

2. SS Javier Baez

3. 1B Anthony Rizzo

4. C Willson Contreras

5. LF Kyle Schwarber

6. DH Victor Caratini

7. RF Jason Heyward

8. CF Ian Happ

9. 2B Jason Kipnis*

Bench

INF Nico Hoerner

OF Steven Souza Jr.*

OF Albert Almora Jr.

Rotation

1. Kyle Hendricks

2. Yu Darvish

3. Jon Lester

4. Jose Quintana+

5. Tyler Chatwood

Setup

Jeremy Jeffress*

Closer

Craig Kimbrel

Manager

David Ross*

Brewers Lineup

1. CF Lorenzo Cain

2. LF Christian Yelich

3. DH Ryan Braun

4. 1B Justin Smoak*

5. 2B Keston Hiura

6. RF Avisail Garcia*

7. C Omar Narvaez*

8. SS Orlando Arcia

9. 3B Eric Sogard*

Bench

INF Brock Holt*

INF Jedd Gyorko*

OF Ben Gamel

Rotation

1. Brandon Woodruff

2. Freddy Peralta

3. Brett Anderson*+

4. Adrian Houser

5. Josh Lindblom*

Setup

Corey Knebel

Closer

Josh Hader

Manager

Craig Counsell

Pirates Lineup

1. LF Bryan Reynolds

2. RF Gregory Polanco

3. 1B Josh Bell

4. 3B Colin Moran

5. DH Jose Osuna

6. SS Kevin Newman

7. 2B Adam Frazier

8. C Jacob Stallings

9. CF Jarrod Dyson

Bench

INF Erik Gonzalez

OF Guillermo Heredia*

INF/OF Cole Tucker

Rotation

1. Joe Musgrove

2. Trevor Williams

3. Mitch Keller

4. Derek Holland*

5. Steven Brault

Setup

Richard Rodriguez

Closer

Keone Kela+

Manager

Derek Shelton*