Pages Menu
TwitterRssFacebook
Categories Menu

Posted by on May 16, 2013 in Featured Sports, Pat Wong, Sports | 2 comments

Baseball Report Card: April (NL Central)

6173697163_c645ea2dfe_oNL Central

1.       St. Louis Cardinals (15-11)

The Cardinals got a tough break before the season with their closer Jason Motte getting injured and will not get Tommy John Surgery. They struggled trying to figure out who in their pen could close by Edward Mujica who has a 0.75 WHIP, 2.25 ERA, 7 saves, 13 Ks in 12 innings, and a 13/1 K/BB ratio. In general, their pitching has been great as they have allowed the third fewest runs in the NL. Their starting rotation is led by early CY Young candidate Adam Wainwright. He has been ridiculously good at 4-2with a 0.99 WHIP, 2.03 ERA, 43 Ks in 44 innings, and a 43/3 K/BB ratio. He had only walked one batter before walking two in his last start. Rookie and top prospect Shelby Miller has also been great early going 4-2 with a 1.06 WHIP, 1.96 ERA, 38 Ks in 36.2 innings, and a 3.5 K/BB ratio. Their offense has gotten off to a decent start with Carlos Beltran (.294, 8 HR, and 19 RBIs) and Yadier Molina (.330 batting average) leading the way. Matt Holliday and Allen Craig have been good but yet to go on a real tear. The offense should get better as those two key players heat up. With a +24 run differential, their record should be a little better. Now that the closer situation has stabilized, it should be better going forward.

Grade: B

2.       Milwaukee Brewers (14-11)

With a +5 run differential, the Brewers are about a .500 team. It is a little above because they have played more home games than road games. The Brewers are still led by former NL MVP Ryan Braun who is doing what he does hitting .302, .391 OBP, 7 homers, 23 RBIs, and 2 steals. Outfielder Carlos Gomez is continuing with his breakout from last season batting .367 with 5 homers and 7 steals. Top prospect shortstop Jean Segura has been great early batting .333 with 3 homers and 8 stolen bases. Their pitching has been adequate. Signing Kyle Lohse right before the season was big because he has been their best starter so far with a 1.11 WHIP, 3.16 ERA and 24/3 K/BB ratio. Former closer John Axford was a complete disaster at the beginning of the season and lost his job. Jim Henderson has stepped right in and stabilized the back of the bullpen with a 0.75 WHIP, 0.75 ERA, 6 saves, 15 Ks in 12 innings, and 5 K/BB ratio.

Grade: B

3.       Pittsburgh Pirates (15-12)

The Pirates had a great first half before completely dropping off last year. They are off to another decent start. They have scored as many runs as they have given up and their record is reflective of it. They are led by outfielder Andrew McCutchen but outfielder Starling Marte was their best player so far batting .328, .391 OBP, 3 homers, and 9 stolen bases. Russell Martin has been a good free agent pickup at catcher as he has hit 6 homers. Their rotation is led by veteran starter AJ Burnett who has been great for the Pirates since coming from the Yankees. He is off to a great start this year as he has a 1.12 WHIP, 2.57 ERA, 57 Ks in 42 innings, and a great K/BB ratio of 3.8. He has been nothing short of dominating in his recent starts. Jason Grilli has been great in his first year as a closer with a 0.85 WHIP, 0.69 ERA, 12 saves, 21 Ks in 13 innings, and K/BB ratio over 5.

Grade: B

4.       Cincinnati Reds (15-13)

The Reds have one of the most talented teams in the game. They have scored the second most runs in the National League and have a solid pitching staff. Their best hitter is Joey Votto who is hitting .303 and has a great .454 OBP but only has 4 homers and 11 RBIs. I expect the power numbers to jump as the season progresses. Second basemen Brandon Phillips is off to a fast start batting .289 with 5 homers and 26 RBIs. Shin-Soo Choo has been a big offseason pickup batting .330 with a great .467 OBP to finally give them a great leadoff hitter. Slugger Jay Bruce is off to a slow start with only 1 homerun. Their offense can actually get better once Bruce starts slugging. They also have a talented and deep pitching staff. Mat Latos is their best pitcher so far with a 1.09 WHIP, 1.83 ERA, 38 Ks in 39.1 innings, and a great 4.6 K/BB ratio. Johnny Cueto got hurt but the injury allowed them to bring up top pitching prospect Tony Cingrani who has been sensation with going 2-0 with a 0.89 WHIP, 1.50 ERA, 28 Ks in 18 innings, and fantastic 7 K/BB ratio in only 3 starts. Of course, they also have also have a dominant closer Aroldis Chapman who has struck out 22 batters in 14 innings so far. With a +24 run differential and the talent they have, they should have a better record. I expect them to have a much better record and be at the top of the division at the end of the season.

Grade: B-

5.       Chicago Cubs (10-16)

The Cubs are in another rebuilding mode but do have some bright spots. First basemen Anthony Rizzo is beginning his first full season in the Majors and has already hit 8 homers. After a slow start with the batting average, he has raised his average back up to .243. Jeff Samardzija has been one of the better young starters in baseball. While only going 1-4 on a bad team, he has a 1.17 WHIP, 3.35 ERA, 47 Ks in 37.2 innings, and solid 3.4 K/BB ratio. Rizzo will be the cornerstone for the offense while Samardzija will be his counterpart for the pitching staff as the GM Theo Epstein tries to rebuild this team.

Grade: D

NL East

Comments

2 Comments

  1. I think the Cubs are better than their record shows. Yeah, growing pains are there, but like you said, Rizzo is playing well and I think they’re going to be a force soon enough.

    • You have a potential ace in Samardzija, which is a key to building a starting rotation. Travis Wood and Scott Feldman are pitching out of their minds right now. However, I think they are more 3 or 4 starters in a good rotation. The bullpen was a mess. Kevin Gregg is doing well now but he could be traded at the deadline for some prospects if a team gives them anything decent.

      Rizzo is the real deal. He can definitely be one of the best first basemen and top offensive players right now. Starlin Castro is another building block on the offense as well.

      Samardizja, Rizzo, and Castro are solid foundations but there is still a lot of building for Epstein to do but he has done it before so there is definitely reason to be optimistic going forward.

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: