National League Central 2020 Preview

We continue our preview of National League teams, this time with the Central Division. Royals fans will get a good look at these clubs, as these will be the only interleague opponents for Kansas City this year. It could be a very competitive race, with four of the five clubs looking to challenge for the division.

Chicago Cubs

2019 record: 84-78

2019 pythag: 90-72

2020 ZIPS projection: 32-28

Notable additions: Jeremy Jeffress, Jason Kipnis, Josh Phegley, Steven Souza, Jr.

Notable losses: Nicholas Castellanos, Steve Cishek, Cole Hamels, Derek Holland, Tony Kemp, Brandon Kintzler, David Phelps, Addison Russell, Pedro Strop, Ben Zobrist

The Cubs won a championship in 2016, and looked to be on the verge of a dynasty, but it all could be falling apart this year. They still have many of the key pieces from that season in place, but this is the last year before free agency for Jon Lester, Anthony Rizzo, and Jose Quintana, and Javier Baez, Kyle Schwarber, and Kris Bryant can test free agency after 2021. The lineup still looks solid after scoring the fifth-most runs in the league, and the top of the rotation looks good. But Jose Quintana is out indefinitely with a bizarre thumb injury, and the bullpen has a lot of question marks for new manager David Ross.

Cincinnati Reds

2019 record: 75-87

2019 pythag: 80-82

2020 ZIPS projection: 31-29

Notable additions: Shogo Akiyama, Nicholas Castellanos, Wade Miley, Mike Moustakas, Pedro Strop

Notable losses: Kevin Gausman, Jose Iglesias, Jose Peraza, Alex Wood

The Reds were seemingly one of the few teams trying to improve last year, but they fell far short of expectations with their sixth consecutive losing season. That streak could come to an end this year after major investments in free agency to get sluggers Nicholas Castellanos and Mike Moustakas, as well as table-setter Shogo Akiyama, who hit .303/.392/.471 with 20 home runs in Japan for Seibu last year. Trevor Bauer, who was picked up in last year’s trade deadline, will look to bounce back after a disappointing finish to last season.

Milwaukee Brewers

2019 record: 89-73

2019 pythag: 81-81

2020 ZIPS projection: 32-28

Notable additions: Brett Anderson, Avisail Garcia, Jed Gyorko, Ryon Healy, Brock Holt, Eric Lauer, Josh Lindblom, Omar Narvaez, David Phelps, Justin Smoak, Eric Sogard, Luis Urias

Notable losses: Matt Albers, Chase Anderson, Alex Claudio, Zach Davies, Gio Gonzalez, Trent Grisham, Yasmani Grandal, Junior Guerra, Jordan Lyles, Mike Moustakas, Jimmy Nelson, Drew Pomeranz, Travis Shaw, Eric Thames

The Brewers were four outs away from defeating the Nationals in the Wild Card game, but let it slip away in a 4-3 loss. MVP runner up Christian Yelich returns, but the Brewers overturned much of the roster, signing a number of shrewd, low-cost free agents. Young slugger Keston Hiura will look to boost the offense in his first full season, and the Brewers will hope for a strong performance from Josh Lindblom, who signed in Milwaukee after winning MVP of the KBO in Korea.

Pittsburgh Pirates

2019 record: 69-93

2019 pythag: 68-84

2020 ZIPS projection: 27-33

Notable additions: Jarrod Dyson, Guillermo Heredia, Derek Holland, Luke Maile

Notable losses: Dario Agrazal, Lonnie Chisenhall, Elias Diaz, Francisco Liriano, Starling Marte

The Pirates are bad. ZIPS projects only the Marlins to have a worse record in the National League. The Pirates had the second-worst pitching staff in the league last year and two of their best starting pitchers - Chris Archer and Jameson Taillon - are out for the year with injury, while last year’s closer is facing serious jail time for heinous crimes. The hitting won’t be much better with Josh Bell forced to carry a lineup that had just two hitters last year that were league-average, by OPS+.

St. Louis Cardinals

2019 record: 91-71

2019 pythag: 92-70

2020 ZIPS projection: 31-29

Notable additions: Austin Dean, Kwang-hyun Kim

Notable losses: Dominic Leone, Jose Martinez, Mike Mayers, Yairo Munoz, Michael Wacha

The Cardinals return a strong team that was swept in the National League Championship Series by the Nats. Cardinals starting pitchers had the third-best ERA at 3.78, but a 4.44 FIP, perhaps in part to the second-best defense in baseball. They replace Michael Wacha with Kyung-Hyun Kim, who won 17 games with a 2.51 ERA for the SK Wyverns in Korea last year. Top reliever Giovanny Gallegos has still yet to report to camp for undisclosed reasons.