St. Louis Cardinals (89-73): The Cards are still the class of the central but the loss of Joel Piniero and no significant additions besides Felipe Lopez, they look to take a slight step back from their 2009 success. Beware: The probability of Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright repeating their 2009 seasons is low. If they falter then the whole pitching staff could unravel.
Milwaukee Brewers (88-74): This may seem like too large a leap for a team that was only marginally successful in 2009 but I like the looks of their roster more than most. With the combo of Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, the return of Rickie Weeks, the rookie year of Alcides Escobar and a veteran pitching rotation, this team can compete with most anyone. Don't be surprised if they overtake Pujols and the boys in red.
Chicago Cubs (83-78): Chicago may think they dismissed all that was wrong with the club in trading Milton Bradley, but there are still a ton of emotionally-driven, streaky players on that roster and I don't believe it bodes well for 2010. Their rotation could be very good or could be very bad. Same for the offense. To me the only name on that roster I look at and think "consistency" is Aramis Ramirez (when he's healthy). Edinson Volquez's injury is the only thing keeping me from putting the Reds here.
Cincinatti Reds (80-82): They have the pieces in place to make a run at a winning record but something is just out of whack with this roster. On the one hand you have Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Jay Bruce, Scott Rolen and Ramon Hernandez. You also have Cueto, Harang, and the newly acquired Aroldis Chapman. On the other hand you have an extremely young outfield, and extremely old left side of the infield, a very weak bullpen and Bronson Arroyo.
Houston Astros (73-89): Point blank: I do not believe that Wandy Rodriguez will repeat his 2009. Jose Valverde is gone. Their offense stinks outside of 2 or 3 players. Not good. And it blows my mind that year after year they avoid trading Oswalt to restock the system. May look back and see that as one of the biggest mistakes of the past decade. Yeesh.
Pittsburgh Pirates (70-91): Nope, they won't see that winning season yet. However, it seems they may finally be on the way. They finally had one of those top prospects pan out in the form of Andrew McCutchen and with other potential studs on their roster, including 2009 breakout star Garret Jones, who after being a lifer in AAA suddenly exploded for 21 home runs in the second half last year, and the under-achieving but highly touted Lastings Milledge, the club looks to continue improving. You kind of got the feeling watching the Bucs last year that they are finally having some fun with baseball. I think that fun turns into wins. So sue me.
Later today I'll pump out the NL WEST and maybe embark on the American League.
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