The last and final National League Central team I am going to break down is the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs are coming off a great season last year where they came in 1st in the NL Central with a 34-26 record. The Cubs were supposed to be this dynasty that began when they won the 2016 World Series, but they never won another World Series. In fact they continuously declined each year and the core that they built has now imploded because of injuries and under performance. Coming into this year they haven’t even extended any of their core players, like Anthony Rizzo, Javy Baez, Kris Bryant, and players like Kyle Schwarber are gone from the team. I don’t see Kris Bryant re-signing with the Cubs, but I do expect them to re-sign Anthony Rizzo the most and 50/50 on them re-signing Baez. As for how the team is going into the season, they are in the middle. They should be good, but they should’ve been good for the past 5 years. They haven’t because of injuries and inconsistencies. Let’s see if this year will be different and possibly be one last hurrah.
Projected Starting Rotation
| 1 | Kyle Hendricks |
| 2 | Jake Arrieta |
| 3 | Zach Davies |
| 4 | Trevor Williams |
| 5 | Alec Mills |
Their rotation is certainly different from years’ past. The only remaining piece is ‘The Professor’ Kyle Hendricks. Yes Arrieta is back but he is a reclamation project right now after having a 2 year stint in Philadelphia that didn’t go so well. The pitchers I want to look at are Kyle Hendricks, Zach Davies and Trevor Williams. Hendricks and Davies are practically the same pitcher. They both don’t throw hard, barely touch 91mph, have excellent command, and are pitchers not throwers. They won’t blow gas and light up radar guns, but hitters will have a hard time getting any hits together against them. In a day and age where pitchers from the age of 14 want to and are able to throw fast, it’s refreshing to see two guys be able to make careers by being smart pitchers because they don’t have the velocity to blow hitters away. Trevor Williams was someone who was released by Pittsburgh in the offseason, not because he sucked but because he was going to make a lot of money that the Pirates didn’t want to pay him. Williams is an underrated pitcher who hasn’t gotten much attention because he pitched in Pittsburgh, but I expect him to contribute with the Cubs this year. Hendricks will be his usual self, flying under the radar and a surprise candidate for the NL Cy Young. Davies won’t be as successful as Hendricks but he will good nonetheless. Williams will probably struggle at first but find his groove or start off with a hot start and finish struggling.
Projected Line-Up
| 1 | CF Ian Happ | S |
| 2 | SS Javy Baez | R |
| 3 | 1B Anthony Rizzo | L |
| 4 | 3B Kris Bryant | R |
| 5 | LF Joc Pederson | L |
| 6 | C Willson Contreras | R |
| 7 | RF Jason Heyward | L |
| 8 | 2B Nico Hoerner | R |
| 9 | P Pitcher | – |
The lineup should be dangerous, but who knows, some may struggle. To me this lineup should put the Cubs in a good position to compete for a playoff spot come September. Names that interest me are Rizzo, Bryant and Pederson. Rizzo is the unofficial-official captain of the Cubs. Whatever he says goes, and he is the leader. He is a consistent hitter and I expect nothing less. I expect him to have his usual season and the Cubs give him an extension so that he ends his career as a Cub. Bryant is in a walk year and becomes a free agent at year’s end. For some reason, people have moved on for him and see him as an injury-prone player who is on the decline. But he’s only had one bad year in 2019 and another one in 2020 but it was a shortened season and bad seasons get thrown out the window. I expect Bryant to have a bounce back season and show people what type of player he really is and he will sign elsewhere in free agency. Lastly, former Dodger and 2020 World Series champion Joc Pederson. I’ve said in the past that Joc should’ve been traded for several years but thankfully he wasn’t because he was integral part of the Dodgers winning the World Series. I think Joc will thrive in Chicago because he will be playing everyday. Something that the Dodgers should’ve done with him but never let him fulfill his potential.
2021 PECOTA NL Central Projections
PECOTA has Chicago finishing in 2nd this year. I agree with them. I don’t see them finishing in 1st because I see the Cardinals finishing in 1st. Chicago, Cincinnati and Milwaukee battling for 2nd, 3rd and 4th. I have stated that Cincinnati is finishing in 4th and Milwaukee in 3rd. So that leaves Chicago finishing in 2nd. I believe that Hendricks, Arrieta and Davies will carry the team and put them in a great position come September. And Rizzo, Baez and Pederson will perform exceptionally well. I don’t know who will be the two wild card teams from the National League but certainly, if the Cubs finish in 2nd they will be one of those teams.
