2020 MLB Season: Full divisional, postseason, and award predictions

Can the Chicago Cubs return to prominence in the Central in the 2020 MLB season?

I know that there are many other teams in this division that have been in the postseason more recently than the Reds, as they haven’t reached October since 2013 when they lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Wild card Game.

But, the Cincinnati Reds have done enough to be a division winner in a situation like this. Their bullpen is probably the most underrated bullpens in the game. Raisel Iglesias, Amir Garrett, Pedro Strop, and Michael Lorenzen will be at the back of the bullpen, and Lorenzen is a two-way player which makes him more valuable to David Bell.

They have the best starting rotation in the NL Central with Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Trevor Bauer, Wade Miley, and Anthony DeSclafani. Being five guys deep will keep their revamped offense in games.

Joey Votto looks like he’s in great shape, and you can add him to a top of the lineup that includes Eugenio Suarez, Mike Moustakas, and Nicholas Castellanos.

Being able to put Castellanos in the DH spot is going to make them that much better defensively in the outfield, as the Reds signed him because of what he brings to the table offensively.

The Cubs had a disappointing end to last season that included letting go of their 2016 World Series manager Joe Maddon. They brought in fan-favorite David Ross to be their skipper to try to bring more accountability to the clubhouse.

Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, Willson Contreras, and Anthony Rizzo are still in their lineup with Kyle Schwarber getting to slip into the DH spot so he can focus only on hitting.

What concerns me is Rizzo is already dealing with an ailing back issue, which happens every season around this time but if his back limits him from impacting the team offensively at the beginning of the season, that’s going to be a problem.

The starting rotation is a big question mark, and it is partly going to decide whether or not the Cubs make the postseason.

Kyle Hendricks is getting the Opening Day nod and Jon Lester is going to be fine, but Jose Quintana has already hurt his hand while washing dishes and Yu Darvish hasn’t really lived up to his contract that he signed following the 2017 season.

After being an All-Star in 2017, he followed it up with a season that abruptly ended after he suffered an elbow injury and then in 2019 he led the league with home runs given up (33).

Craig Kimbrel signed a deal with Chicago prior to last season, but got hit hard and so the only way I see the Cubs being in contention is if he can get his fastball back.

There are a lot of question marks with this team, but if answered they can be a playoff team.

The Milwaukee Brewers are going to contend for the division just like the Reds, Cubs, and Cardinals will, and Christian Yelich coming back from injury is a huge part of it.

Yelich, the 2018 NL MVP, will provide a huge boost to a lineup that lost Mike Moustakas and Yasmani Grandal. Who knows what they could’ve done if Yelich was in the lineup in the 2019 NL Wild Card game vs the Nationals.

The weakness for Milwaukee is going to be their pitching. Craig Counsell likes Brandon Woodruff but he isn’t a true ace. The rest of the rotation isn’t strong–Adrian Houser, Brett Anderson, Josh Lindblom, Eric Lauer, and Brent Suter are their main options.

A big storyline is going to be how frequent Josh Hader will be used at the back of the bullpen when it is just a 60-game 2020 MLB season. He could take on a 2016 Andrew Miller type role because Milwaukee doesn’t really need to save him for later in the season.

The big key for the Cardinals this season is they need their stars to be stars because every game matters.

Jack Flaherty is going to need to pitch as he did in the second half of the season for the Cards to have a chance at the division because Miles Mikolas and Dakota Hudson are up and down at times.

Paul Goldschmidt and Matt Carpenter are the two guys to watch for this team. Carpenter might be able to flourish on offense if he gets the majority of his at-bats in the DH spot. Goldschmidt is going to be what makes this team go.

He signed an extension before playing a single game for St. Louis after he was traded from Arizona and perhaps the expectations got to him.

Don’t let the 4 next to their name fool you. This division is deep and is going to be close so expect this team to be in contention late in the season.

The Pirates has a rough season last year, firing their manager Clint Hurdle and then their GM Neal Huntington. Sorry Pirates fans, it is going to be another rough year.

Ben Cherington is known for building his organization from the ground up and so it isn’t mind-boggling to see that there isn’t a lot of ‘star’ players on the major league roster.

Josh Bell and Bryan Reynolds will be leading the offense and Joe Musgrove gets the Opening Day nod on July 24th against St. Louis.

Gregory Polanco, one of their established starters, tested positive for the coronavirus which challenges their depth even more.