Post by D Backs GM (Tyler) on Feb 3, 2018 11:18:34 GMT -5
Welcome to the NL Central! We think we know the top team and the bottom team, but that middle is a complete mess. Write ups are from Tyler and Scott for this division. As always, tell us why we're wrong in the comments. Enjoy!
Previously on Winter Power Rankings: Overview, AL East, AL Central, AL West, NL East
St. Louis Cardinals - 5th NL CENTRAL (Consensus)
R-e-b-u-i-l-d. Thats all there really is to say here. This team wont be competitive and they know it. They have almost $70M to spend but basically need an entire roster. Best course would probably be to get a few top-ish guys and front load them as much as possible so they are cheaper when they need to be. With Gomes ($20M) and Shields ($12M) coming off the books next year, I can see this rebuild being a faster one than the Brew Crew. But it will be entirely dependent on the owners ability to target the right guys and structure those contracts.
- Tyler
Milwaukee Brewers - 4th NL CENTRAL (Two 3rd, Two 4th)
Brewers are going to be a bottom half team for sure and barring them finding a way to dump a few contracts and spend smart through FA to improve, I'm just not seeing it for a while. They are clearly in rebuild mode but I'm not sure this is quite the way to do it. Their only three guys getting full time ABs are the ones with bloated long term contracts. I think we're all honest here and just know that it is full-blow-it-up time. That makes for not a competitive team this year unfortunately. But we do have a committed new owner who hopefully is up for the task. This division could use more competitive teams.
- Tyler
Cincinnati Reds - 3rd NL CENTRAL (One 2nd, One 3rd, Two 4th)
Decent MLB team but not near the top. Strong, high upside farm (thanks to my terrible trade). Should take Twins approach of acquiring high cost vets along with prospects/picks. Strength: Farm / Weakness: Unused cap space.
- Scott
Pittsburgh Pirates - 2nd NL CENTRAL (Three 2nd, One 3rd)
Lack of depth killed Pirates chances in 2017. So far, its looking similar for 2018. Very good owner, if Larry can find depth in the draft/FA, he can take down the NLC.
Strength: Speed / Weakness: HR/depth
-Scott
Chicago Cubs - 1st NL CENTRAL (Consensus)
Arenado, Harper, Baez, 3 closers, and about 30 players who will be sniffing or in the rotation this year. Scott has put together a good team and the only two real holes are at catcher (difficult to fill) and holder (not so difficult). I suspect that is where the free agent money goes for him to nicely round out his team. That Harper contract is quite large BUT only until 2022, which Harper will definitely perform at a high level through.
-Tyler
Next up: NL West (tomorrow)
Previously on Winter Power Rankings: Overview, AL East, AL Central, AL West, NL East
St. Louis Cardinals - 5th NL CENTRAL (Consensus)
R-e-b-u-i-l-d. Thats all there really is to say here. This team wont be competitive and they know it. They have almost $70M to spend but basically need an entire roster. Best course would probably be to get a few top-ish guys and front load them as much as possible so they are cheaper when they need to be. With Gomes ($20M) and Shields ($12M) coming off the books next year, I can see this rebuild being a faster one than the Brew Crew. But it will be entirely dependent on the owners ability to target the right guys and structure those contracts.
- Tyler
Milwaukee Brewers - 4th NL CENTRAL (Two 3rd, Two 4th)
Brewers are going to be a bottom half team for sure and barring them finding a way to dump a few contracts and spend smart through FA to improve, I'm just not seeing it for a while. They are clearly in rebuild mode but I'm not sure this is quite the way to do it. Their only three guys getting full time ABs are the ones with bloated long term contracts. I think we're all honest here and just know that it is full-blow-it-up time. That makes for not a competitive team this year unfortunately. But we do have a committed new owner who hopefully is up for the task. This division could use more competitive teams.
- Tyler
Cincinnati Reds - 3rd NL CENTRAL (One 2nd, One 3rd, Two 4th)
Decent MLB team but not near the top. Strong, high upside farm (thanks to my terrible trade). Should take Twins approach of acquiring high cost vets along with prospects/picks. Strength: Farm / Weakness: Unused cap space.
- Scott
Pittsburgh Pirates - 2nd NL CENTRAL (Three 2nd, One 3rd)
Lack of depth killed Pirates chances in 2017. So far, its looking similar for 2018. Very good owner, if Larry can find depth in the draft/FA, he can take down the NLC.
Strength: Speed / Weakness: HR/depth
-Scott
Chicago Cubs - 1st NL CENTRAL (Consensus)
Arenado, Harper, Baez, 3 closers, and about 30 players who will be sniffing or in the rotation this year. Scott has put together a good team and the only two real holes are at catcher (difficult to fill) and holder (not so difficult). I suspect that is where the free agent money goes for him to nicely round out his team. That Harper contract is quite large BUT only until 2022, which Harper will definitely perform at a high level through.
-Tyler
Next up: NL West (tomorrow)