Reds, Pirates, Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs: The good, bad, and injured

June is getting hot, and the MLB is heading into the dog days of summer. This is the time of year when baseball gets intricate. Teams have established themselves and shown who is who. Heading to the All-Star break, they start to make adjustments, buyers and sellers become evident, and the top teams will get targets painted on their backs.

The good becomes significant, the bad have to adjust, and the injuries throw wrenches into the plan constantly. So let’s look at the good, the bad, and the injured in the MLB’s wildest division, the NL Central.

The good in the NL Central

The Cincinnati Reds were 27-34 and trailing in the NL Central on June 6. That day they called up the organization’s top prospect, a 6-foot-5 Dominican shortstop named Elly De La Cruz would start at third base that night and doubled in his very first at-bat. Since that moment, the NL Central became the Reds to lose.

The Reds have gone 14-1 since calling up De La Cruz and are currently riding a 12-game winning streak. De La Cruz has been stunning in his MLB debut, hitting .361 with three home runs and seven stolen bases.

He hit for the cycle in his 15th major league game, the third fastest to do that since 1900. Seven stolen bases in 61 at-bats have rocketed him up the MLB’S most-wanted thieves list. Welcome to superstardom, Elly De La Cruz, all of Ohio has been waiting for you.

Finally, there is excitement in Cincinnati baseball for the first time in decades; with fellow rookies Spencer Steer and Matt McLain excelling, the Reds are now a contender. Steer is one of the contenders in the NL Rookie of the Year race. He is on pace to have a 20/20 year with 100 runs and RBI. McLain is getting on base a lot, hitting .306 with an OPS of .842. The Reds’ trio of All-Star rookies have a combined wRC+ of 422. For comparison, the Padres’ trio of Tatis/Soto/Machado have a wRC+ of 402.

The Cubs have a tremendous three-ace rotation. Drew Smyly (7-4), Marcus Stroman (9-4), and Justin Steele (8-2) have a combined WAR of 6.5. All three of them hold a WHIP under 1.25 and could see multiple 20-game winners by the season’s end.

The Cubs have worked out the early season kinks and are ready to be contenders. Adding some offensive firepower before the deadline could push the surging Cubs to a wild-card position. Kris Bryant from the Rockies could be the perfect reunion the Cubs need.