National League Central

* – indicates new to team

+ – indicates injury

1. St. Louis Cardinals

The acquisition of Nolan Arenado was a gift that they won’t soon squander.

2. Milwaukee Brewers

Their pitching staff has a few question marks, but their lineup is stacked and will keep them in contention.

3. Chicago Cubs

The signals that ownership has sent out indicates that this will be the last season with this current group of players.

4. Cincinnati Reds

It didn’t work last year and now they’ve lost their Cy Young winner in Trevor Bauer.

5. Pittsburgh Pirates

And the title of the worst team in baseball goes to…

Player to Watch: 3B Kris Bryant – Chicago Cubs

Best Acquisition: 3B Nolan Arenado – St. Louis Cardinals

New Kid on the Block: OF Dylan Carlson – St. Louis Cardinals Continue reading →

National League Central

* – 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 Continue reading →

2019 MLB All-Star Teams

For the 90th year of the Midsummer Classic, baseball turns its sights to Progressive Field (formerly Jacobs Field or “The Jake”) in Cleveland, Ohio. The last time the mid-summer classic was played in Cleveland was in 1997. Now every year there is always a lot of discussion and some of it a little dated about how the teams are put together. No system will ever be perfect. Fans don’t always get it right and managers won’t either, nor the commissioner’s office. The fact that the players are able to vote for participants was a great choice and they know who is deserving. Regardless of who should or shouldn’t be in the game lets just accept that the best players will always be involved one way or another. Here are my all-stars keeping with the rules that every team be represented and a total of 32 players for each league.

AVG – Batting Average

ERA – Earned Run Average

HR – Home Runs

RBI – Runs Batted In

SV – Saves

BAA – Batting Average Against

WHIP – Walks/Hits Per Innings Pitched

K – Strikeouts

Stats are accurate as of July 5

* – asterisk indicates starter Continue reading →

National League Central

* – 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 Continue reading →

2018 MLB Trade Deadline Review

As with past deadline deals these will be highly scrutinized for many years. Instantly we see and decide who got the better end of the deal, but we really won’t know until at least two or three seasons down the road. The only way to know in real time is if the team getting the established major leaguer goes on to win a World Series. Time will tell if that happens this year with the flurry of names (a few marquee ones) being dealt this July. Continue reading →