2021 NL Central Preview

We're halfway through Major League Baseball for the 2021 season, and with the West slated for tomorrow, it's time for me to get back to work and start the second half of the preview series for 2021.

Earlier today I attacked the AL Central, so this afternoon I'll swap leagues and attack my home division.

Let's look at the NL Central.

NL Central

1. St. Louis Cardinals
2020: 30-28 (2nd in NL Central), lost in NL Wild Card Round
St. Louis went out and made one of the biggest splashes of the offseason, trading for Nolan Arenado from the Rockies, forming a fearsome tandem at the corner infield spots with Paul Goldschmidt. There's a nice blend of some young talent here too to complement those pieces, and I'll be interested to see how good the pitching is. I think this is the best team in the division, but we'll see if they live up to it.
2021 Prediction: 88-74

2. Chicago Cubs
2020: 34-26 (1st in NL Central), lost in NL Wild Card Round
It was kind of a weird offseason for the Cubs. They dealt Yu Darvish off to San Diego along with his personal catcher in Victor Caratini, and let Jon Lester and Kyle Schwarber walk, with both signing in Washington. Then they brought Jake Arrieta back, though there's no way he'll replicate his 2015 form. It could go either way this year, with the core in contract years and not really having been up to their peak forms in recent years. In a bad division though, this Cubs team should contend for a playoff spot.
2021 Prediction: 83-79

3. Milwaukee Brewers
2020: 29-31 (4th in NL Central), lost in NL Wild Card Round
I'm not sold on the pitching staff on this Brewers team with the exception of the back end of their bullpen in Josh Hader. But the lineup is still pretty potent. Christian Yelich is still really good, and the additions of Kolten Wong and Jackie Bradley, Jr should help, especially on defense. I think they'll be right up near the top of the division again this year.
2021 Prediction: 83-79

4. Cincinnati Reds
2020: 31-29 (3rd in NL Central), lost in NL Wild Card Round
This Reds team is interesting. I think they have a decent lineup, with full years of Nick Castellanos and Mike Moustakas to go along with established pieces like Eugenio Suarez and Joey Votto. But I'm not sold on the pitching really. The back of the bullpen should be fine with Sean Doolittle joining Amir Garrett, but the rotation doesn't really have any names that strike fear into me. They'll be okay, but not great.
2021 Prediction: 74-88

5. Pittsburgh Pirates
2020: 19-41 (5th in NL Central), missed playoffs
It's almost weird to think that it wasn't all that long ago that the Pirates were in the midst of a two decade run of futility, followed by a brief window of contention, though that window has slammed shut at this point. Gregory Polanco is really the only guy from that group still around, and there's not a lot here that I have to say about a team that will probably be really bad this year.
2021 Prediction: 62-100