2024 Miami Marlins season preview: The 3 NL division winners and Wild Cards

NL CENTRAL

The Chicago Cubs have a solid rotation fronted by 2023 NL Cy Young contender Justin Steele, and featuring the likes of Kyle Hendricks and Shota Imanaga, The lineup has good defense, but lacks certainty, as does the bullpen.

The St. Louis Cardinals may be the most complete team in the division, featuring a solid inning-eating rotation, a solid bullpen and a promising lineup. 1B Paul Goldschmidt having a big contract year and/or RF Jordan Walker or DH Nolan Gorman taking steps forward will most likely win them the division.

I'm not high on the Cincinnati Reds, whose pitching is a lot of upside mixed with a ton of uncetainty. This also stretches into their lineup, filled with more promise than experience. They overachieved last season and will come back down to earth this season.

The Milwaukee Brewers have a better lineup, but still not as good as Chicago's o St. Louis's. They have a strong bullpen but will miss injured CP Devin Williams. The rotation got worse as well. They should be in contention for the division, but the lineup didn't improve enough and the rotation declined too much.

I'm not sure what to say about the Pittsburgh Pirates, other than that they're the worse version of their rivals in Cincinnati.

Projected finish:

1. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

2. CHICAGO CUBS

3. MILWAUKEE BREWERS

4. CINCINNATI REDS

5. PITTSBURGH PIRATES

NEXT: THE FINAL DIVISION