The National League Central is the best division in baseball by far. The top three teams in the division were also the top three teams in all of baseball last year. Let me repeat that. All three teams were better than every team in the American League and in the other two divisions in the National League. Of course, the bottom two teams are trying to race to the bottom along with the Braves and Phillies. So, the division is obviously moving in two different directions which means the teams are obviously looking to do different things.

The Cubs are the odds on favorites to win the whole thing, but they will have stiff competition within the division. The Cardinals and Pirates are obviously still very good and all of them had some significant changes happen during Spring Training. Of course, the Reds and Brewers are trying to maneuver their way into a rebuilding phase, so they are looking to go in the opposite direction.

Cincinnati Reds

The Reds are trying to rebuild, but have struggled to get rid of some of their veterans. They did deal Johnny Cueto and Aroldis Chapman, but they did not get a whole lot for Chapman because of his legal trouble at the time. They also traded third baseman Todd Frazier and got a very meager haul. So, their regular lineup is pretty much the same as it was minus Frazier. The pitching on the other hand has taken a serious hit.

The pitching went from thin to anorexic when Homer Bailey, John Lamb, Michael Lorenzen, and Jon Moscot all landed on the disabled list to start the season. To fill in those holes, they reacquired Alfredo Simon in the hopes that he could rediscover the magic he had in 2014 (15-10, 3.44 ERA). He didn’t have the same magic last season, so the Tigers did not bring him back. Then they acquired Dan Strailly off of waivers when he was dumped by the Astros and Padres. He had a good rookie campaign in 2013 with the Athletics (10-8, 3.96 ERA) but hasn’t done much since then.

Verdict: Straily and Simon don’t miss enough bats to be dominant, but they can get into some good batted ball luck, so they are worth keeping an eye on.

Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers made an interesting trade in the winter where they dealt Jean Segura to the Dbacks in exchange for Aaron Hill and Chase Anderson. The original idea was for Hill to serve as a backup infielder for a year before his contract ran out. They thought Will Middlebrooks would be good enough to hold down the position, but that turned out not to be the case. Hill was very productive in 2012 and 2013, but has gone downhill recently. He hasn’t looked much better this spring either. However, in terms of fantasy production he will be eligible at second base and third base. So, he could be an option for some.

Verdict: Aaron Hill is only a couple of years removed from good production. There’s a slight chance he could rediscover the magic.

St. Louis Cardinals

The difference between the really good organizations and the also rans are their ability to roll with the punches. The Cardinals were dealt a heavy blow when they lost Jhonny Peralta for half the season early in Spring Training. Injuries could have killed their season last year too, but they had enough quality depth in the farm system to cover for the losses. Part of being good is being lucky. Earlier in the offseason, the Cardinals traded outfielder Jon Jay for infielder Jedd Gyorko. The move seemed curious at the time given the fact that the Cardinals were absolutely loaded in the infield.

When Peralta went down, their immediate thought was not to go Gyorko. Instead, they signed Ruben Tejada after he was dumped by the Mets. He was ready to take over before he went down with a strained quad muscle. That likely will only keep him down for a few weeks, but it could be enough time for Gyorko to establish himself. Gyorko is eligible at second base and shortstop, so he has some added value. This doesn’t even mention the fact that he has produced double digit home runs in each of his four seasons. Sometimes, the good teams are good because they are lucky. Sometimes they make their own luck.

Verdict: If Gyorko is available in your league he might be worth an add.