Cubs
Good: The Cubs continue to lead the NL Central with the best outfield in baseball led by Kyle Tucker, Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Seiya Suzuki who also fills in at DH. Tucker has been a solid addition so far but keeping him long-term is the key as the Astros were afraid that he might want a deal similar to Juan Soto’s. Crow-Armstrong has taken the next step in his 2nd year as a starter adding power to his game with the defense and speed. 1B Michael Busch has played well showing good power in his 2nd year as a starter. SS Dansby Swanson has regained his form after a slow start showing good power. 2B Nico Hoerner continues to be a consistent piece in a power heavy lineup. Free agent pickup Carson Kelly has added solid production to the Catcher position, despite injuries. Free agent P Matthew Boyd has played more like the ace. The pitching has played well so far, especially the bullpen.
Bad: See above about Tucker’s contract. P Justin Steele is out for the season. The division is tough so the Cubs will need to continue to play well to keep it. 3B Matt Shaw continues to struggle in his 1st season. The team could use an upgrade at 3B and possibly another backend pitcher.
Brewers
Good: The Brewers led by good coaching continue to find ways to fight for the division and a wildcard spot despite the subtractions as a mid-market team. OF Jackson Chourio is the leader of the team in his 2nd year as a starter/2nd year overall at 21 years old. OF Christian Yelich is healthy again and showing good power and production. The “no name” players have stepped up to produce led by young players OF Sal Frelick and 2B Bryce Turang. Veteran 1B Rhys Hoskins continues to provide power and is getting on base consistently. The pitching has played very well starting and bullpen led by ace Freddy Peralta. Late pickup veteran P Jose Quintana has been solid. Starting pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski may be a star in the making after finally being called up.
Bad: C William Contreras has taken a step back after a solid season last year. Despite the solid all-around play batting and pitching wise, the team can’t seem to catch the Cubs. The team may need one more power bat, especially in case of another Yelich injury. Can the pitching hold up?
Cardinals
Good: The Cardinals stay competitive despite the lack of offseason moves. The bullpen has played very well, and the starting unit has been better than expected led by ace Sonny Gray and Matthew Liberatore who has been better than expected. P Steven Matz has played very well in a relief/backend starter role. Veterans 1B/DH Willson Contreras and 3B Nolan Arenado have stayed healthy and played well. SS Masyn Winn continues to play well, along with 2B/OF Brendan Donovan and OF/1B Alec Burleson. OF Lars Nootbaar has shown more power but average has suffered at leadoff. OF Victor Scott II has shown good speed and defense. C/DH Ivan Herrera has been a bright spot when healthy, while C Pedro Pages has been consistent. 2B/SS Thomas Saggese has been a solid depth piece.
Bad: Young OF Jordan Walker and 2B Nolan Gorman continue to struggle despite being given another year of opportunity with Gorman struggling with injuries also. The team may be in seller mode with teams still asking about Arenado. The team has been as high as 2nd in the division. Starting P Erick Fedde hasn’t been what they expected, and P Miles Mikolas continues to be more innings guy than good pitcher. The team could use another top-level starting Pitcher and a power bat.
Reds
Good: SS Elly De La Cruz continues to be one of the most exciting players in baseball with good power, speed, and defense at 6’5 as the leader of the team. OF T.J. Friedl is healthy and playing very well from the leadoff spot. 1B/3B Spencer Steer is regaining form after a slow start. Offseason additions 2B/OF Gavin Lux and OF Austin Hays have played very well, although Hays has had injuries, he has shown good power. The Catcher position continues to produce. The pitching has played very well including the bullpen but especially the starting unit. High rated prospect starting pitcher Chase Burns has been called up to an already good unit.
Bad: Injuries and ineffective bats. The team is falling behind in a tough division and fighting for a wild card spot. 2B/OF Matt McLain continues to struggle after the injuries. 1B Christian Encarnacion-Strand continues to struggle with injuries and effectiveness despite the early hype. 3B Jose Candelario has been extremely ineffective. The team may need to move a starting pitcher for a top-level infield bat, despite doing the opposite in the offseason.
Pirates
Good: Paul Skenes continues to be one of the most dominant pitchers in the league and may win the Cy Young Award as the favorite all year long. The pitching has played very well especially the starting unit. The team still has a high-level starting pitching prospect to add to the roster at some point. SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa has played very well this season and is drawing a lot of trade interest. 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes has regained form after a slow start. 1B Spencer Horwitz has played well for them after being basically given to them. Long-time Pirate Andrew McCutchen continues to produce at his age. Veteran 2B/OF Adam Frazier has played well after a slow start.
Bad: The team is far behind in a tough division. Star players OF/SS O’Neil Cruz and OF Bryan Reynolds have cooled off and are struggling at this point with the Reynolds trade rumors starting again. Reynolds had high trade value about 2 seasons ago, but Pirates chose to hang on now they would be selling low. The other bats haven’t taken the next step and there is nobody to help. The team can’t produce runs for the good starting pitching leading to losses even for Skenes. The team needs a top-level bat or two, but don’t have the pitching to move for it.
