MLB roundup: National League Central monthly check-up

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With nearly a month’s worth of games in the books, the National League Central is shaping up to be one of the more interesting races early on this season. With a perennial MLB powerhouse surprisingly underacheiving, and three other teams within two games of the top spot, it seems like anything can happen.

Note: All information is prior to games of Wednesday, April 26

MLB roundup: The National League Central

After cruising through a seven game winning streak, the Pittsburgh Pirates currently hold the top spot in the division at 16-8, a full game ahead of Milwaukee. A pitching staff that, a month ago, appeared to be a collection of former prospects and spare parts has actually thrown the ball very effectively, not allowing more than four runs in a game since the Houston Astros tagged them for seven, way back on April 12. Vince Velasquez has allowed just three earned runs in his last 20 innings pitched, while striking out 23 batters, Mitch Keller is tossing like the Pirates thought he could when they drafted him with a second-round pick nine years ago, and Johan Oviedo had a nice little run of 21 strikeouts across 19.2 frames while surrendering just two earned runs through three starts, before the Dodgers let a little air out his balloon on Tuesday night.

Injuries to Oneil Cruz and Ji Man Choi are going to stress the depth of this team, but the Buccos have had an unusual cast step up and answer the call. Jack Suwinski is hitting .379 with four homers in his last 10 games, Andrew McCutchen and Connor Joe are raking as well, and Carlos Santana, straight up, stole a base a couple of days ago. And it wasn’t a cheapy either. He timed the pitcher and beat the throw to second, for just his third stolen base since 2020. The Pirates are backing up some solid pitching with aggressive base running, and stealing opportunities to win games when they arise.

Apr 19, 2023; Oakland, California, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Justin Steele (35) throws a pitch against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports /

The Milwaukee Brewers, at 15-9, have hit a bit of a skid lately, dropping two of three to Boston, and following that up with back-to-back losses to Detroit, and allowing Pittsburgh to move ahead of them. With Brandon Woodruff hitting the IL, and Cobin Burnes not really pitching like Corbin Burnes, it’s been Wade Miley stepping up. Miley is 3-1 on the year, and pitching to a 1.96 ERA and 0.96 WHIP, but the Brewers will need more that and an occasional decent start from Eric Lauer and Colin Rea if they are going to stay in the conversation. Rowdy Tellez has mashed eight taters, and William Contreras is batting a cool .309, but a hamstring injury that will keep Luis Urias out until at least late June, and with Garrett Mitchell potentially done for the year, the lineup could be strained a bit until they find a spark somewhere.

After sweeping Oakland on the road (you’ll probably read that phrase a lot this year), the Chicago Cubs dropped three out of four games to the Dodgers at Wrigley, but still, at 13-9, and only two games back, are still part of the NL Central equation. A completely rebuilt starting nine features seven players that were brought in via free agency this past offseason, with most of them playing key roles in one of the most exciting offenses in baseball. The Cubbies are currently second in team batting average, second in OPS and OBP, fourth in stolen bases, fifth in runs scored, and even sit in the top 10 in home runs. Free agents Dansby Swanson and Cody Bellinger have had a lot to do with that, but homegrown talents Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner have led the way for Chicago all season.

The Cubs back up those gaudy offensive statistics with some pretty impressive pitching. Marcus Stroman, Justin Steele, and Drew Smyly have combined to go 8-3 on the young season with 82 strikeouts across their collective 82.1 innings. With Jameson Taillon due back from the injured list earlier next week, and the Nationals, Marlins, and Cardinals on the upcoming schedule, Chicago could be poised to make a nice little run to start the month of May.

Apr 2, 2023; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery (47) pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

At 9-15, the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals occupy the basement of the division, but really only one of those teams will stay there. The Reds lost 100 games last summer, traded off most of their MLB talent for prospects, and are trying to rebuild. The Cardinals, on the the other hand, have not had a losing season in 15 years. Their roster is scattered with All-Stars, MVP candidates, and Gold Glove winners. Their offense sits in the top half of the league in most measurable statistics, and in the top 10 in most of the important ones. However, this team has fallen victim to some pretty atrocious pitching to start the year. As a staff, the starters are 24th in ERA, and 24th in WHIP. They are 28th in H/9, 22nd in HR/9, and 18th in walks, and that is not a recipe that will lead to very many wins, no matter how good the offense is.

St. Louis is definitley too talented to stay on the bottom for long, and should the pitching come around, this is a team that can pile up wins quickly.

This division has been one of my favorites to track so far this season, and as the calendar flips to May, and the summer hits full stride, definitely keep an eye on the NL Central.

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