TBOH MLB Predictions: NL Central
By Matt Veasey
The Philadelphia Phillies open the 2016 MLB season on Monday, April 4th while six other clubs open up today and we present our TBOH predictions for the season.
Our annual process of polling the staff here at TBOH as to their predictions for the coming season has been completed, and so we’re rolling out those picks in a series of pieces.
The TBOH staff will reveal our cumulative staff choice, as well as our individual picks, for the order of finish in each of Major League Baseball’s six divisions, the two Wildcard teams from each league, and our World Series favorites.
To determine the staff cumulative pick for each division, I took the predicted order of finish from each of our writers and assigned a numerical value. Teams picked for first place received one point, teams picked to finish in fifth received five points. Thus, the lower your overall total points, the higher your predicted finish. The total points are listed next to each team name.
We’ll also be revealing our staffers picks for the Most Valuable Player Award in both the National and American Leagues, as well as the Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year Award winners in both leagues.
Finally, our staffers have chosen their MLB manager who is most likely to become the first casualty of the season, the first to be fired this year.
Enjoy our picks, and we would love to hear your own. Please feel free to leave your choices in a comment. We’ll be sure to read them.
NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL DIVISION – Staff cumulative pick
- Chicago Cubs (7) – what Joe Maddon‘s team receives from the bullpen and the back of the rotation may prove a World Series difference maker
- Pittsburgh Pirates (17) – Andrew McCutchen and the Bucs have made playoffs 3 straight years, and are contenders once again
- Saint Louis Cardinals (18) – always a mistake to count the Cards out, but they look a little behind the top two this season
- Milwaukee Brewers (31) – a very clear drop from the top three to the bottom two teams. Ryan Braun looks like great trade bait
- Cincinnati Reds (32) – it’s a toss-up for the bottom of the division, with Joey Votto and the Reds having more bats, and Brewers more pitching
Matt Veasey – Chicago, Pittsburgh, Saint Louis, Cincinnati, Milwaukee
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Ethan Witte – Chicago, Pittsburgh, Saint Louis, Cincinnati, Milwaukee
Mike Azzalina – Chicago, Saint Louis, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Cincinnati
Alexis Girardo – Chicago, Pittsburgh, Saint Louis, Milwaukee, Cincinnati
Tyler DiSalle – Chicago, Saint Louis, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Cincinnati
Ryan Gerstel – Chicago, Saint Louis, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Milwaukee
David Mosemann – Chicago, Pittsburgh, Saint Louis, Milwaukee, Cincinnati