National League Central

* - indicates new to team
AVG - Batting Average
ERA - Earned Run Average
HR - Home Runs
RBI - Runs Batted In
SV - Saves

1. Cincinnati Reds
A big trade brings new life into the team
2. St. Louis Cardinals
Can they defend their title without Pujols?
3. Milwaukee Brewers
No Prince means they have to rely on pitching
4. Chicago Cubs
The new regime is preaching patience
5. Pittsburgh Pirates
They're heading in the right direction
6. Houston Astros
A new beginning as they move to the AL next year

Player to Watch: 3B David Freese St. Louis Cardinals
Best Acquisition: OF Carlos Beltran St. Louis Cardinals
New Kid on the Block: 1B Mat Gamel Milwaukee Brewers

Reds Lineup

1. 2B Brandon Phillips

.300 AVG 18 HR 82 RBI

2. LF Chris Heisey

.254 AVG 18 HR 50 RBI

3. 1B Joey Votto

.309 AVG 29 HR 103 RBI

4. RF Jay Bruce

.256 AVG 32 HR 97 RBI

5. 3B Scott Rolen

.242 AVG 5 HR 36 RBI

6. CF Drew Stubbs

.243 AVG 15 HR 44 RBI

7. SS Zack Cozart

.310 AVG 7 HR 32 RBI (AAA stats)

8. C Ryan Hanigan

.267 AVG 6 HR 31 RBI

Bench

OF Ryan Ludwick*

.237 AVG 13 HR 75 RBI

INF Miguel Cairo

.265 AVG 8 HR 33 RBI

C Devin Mesoraco

.289 AVG 15 HR 71 RBI (AAA stats)

Rotation

1. Mat Latos*

9-14 3.47 ERA

2. Johnny Cueto

9-5 2.31 ERA

3. Bronson Arroyo

9-12 5.07 ERA

4. Homer Bailey

9-7 4.43 ERA

5. Mike Leake

12-9 3.86 ERA

Setup

Nick Masset

3-6 3.71 ERA

Closer

Sean Marshall*

5 SV 2.26 ERA

Dusty Baker's Job: Monitor the pitching staff

Most Important Player: P Johnny Cueto

Cardinals Lineup

1. SS Rafael Furcal

.231 AVG 8 HR 28 RBI

2. RF Carlos Beltran*

.300 AVG 22 HR 84 RBI

3. LF Matt Holliday

.296 AVG 22 HR 75 RBI

4. 1B Lance Berkman

.301 AVG 31 HR 94 RBI

5. 3B David Freese

.297 AVG 10 HR 55 RBI

6. CF Jon Jay

.297 AVG 10 HR 37 RBI

7. C Yadier Molina

.305 AVG 14 HR 65 RBI

8. 2B Tyler Greene

.212 AVG 1 HR 11 RBI

Bench

OF/INF Allen Craig

.315 AVG 11 HR 40 RBI

INF Daniel Descalso

.264 AVG 1 HR 28 RBI

INF/OF Skip Schumaker

.283 AVG 2 HR 38 RBI

Rotation

1. Chris Carpenter

11-9 3.45 ERA

2. Adam Wainwright

Did Not Play

3. Jaime Garcia

13-7 3.56 ERA

4. Kyle Lohse

14-8 3.39 ERA

5. Jake Westbrook 

12-9 4.66 ERA

Setup

Fernando Salas

5-6 2.28 ERA

Closer

Jason Motte 

9 SV 2.25 ERA

Mike Matheny's Job: Don't fix what isn't broken

Most Important Player: P Jason Motte

Brewers Lineup

1. 2B Rickie Weeks

.269 AVG 20 HR 49 RBI

2. CF Nyjer Morgan

.304 AVG 4 HR 37 RBI

3. LF Ryan Braun

.332 AVG 33 HR 111 RBI

4. 3B Aramis Ramirez*

.306 AVG 26 HR 93 RBI

5. RF Corey Hart

.285 AVG 26 HR 63 RBI

6. 1B Mat Gamel

.310 AVG 28 HR 96 RBI (AAA stats)

7. SS Alex Gonzalez*

.241 AVG 15 HR 56 RBI

8. C Jonathan Lucroy

.265 AVG 12 HR 59 RBI

Bench

OF Carlos Gomez

.225 AVG 8 HR 24 RBI

OF Norichika Aoki*

.292 AVG 4 HR 44 RBI (Japan)

C George Kottaras

.252 AVG 5 HR 17 RBI

Rotation

1. Yovani Gallardo

17-10 3.52 ERA

2. Zack Greinke

16-6 3.83 ERA

3. Shaun Marcum

13-7 3.54 ERA

4. Randy Wolf

13-10 3.69 ERA

5. Chris Narveson

11-8 4.45 ERA

Setup

Francisco Rodriguez

6-2 2.64 ERA

Closer

John Axford

46 SV 1.95 ERA

Ron Roenicke's Job: Play small ball

Most Important Player: OF Ryan Braun

Cubs Lineup

1. RF David DeJesus*

.240 AVG 10 HR 46 RBI

2. 3B Ian Stewart*

.156 AVG 0 HR 6 RBI

3. SS Starlin Castro

.307 AVG 10 HR 66 RBI

4. 1B Bryan LaHair

.331 AVG 38 HR 109 RBI (AAA stats)

5. LF Alfonso Soriano

.244 AVG 26 HR 88 RBI

6. C Geovany Soto

.228 AVG 17 HR 54 RBI

7. CF Marlon Byrd

.276 AVG 9 HR 35 RBI

8. 2B Darwin Barney

.276 AVG 2 HR 43 RBI

Bench

INF/OF Jeff Baker

.269 AVG 3 HR 23 RBI

OF Reed Johnson

.309 AVG 5 HR 28 RBI

OF Tony Campana

.259 AVG 1 HR 6 RBI

Rotation

1. Matt Garza

10-10 3.32 ERA

2. Ryan Dempster

10-14 4.80 ERA

3. Paul Maholm*

6-14 3.66 ERA

4. Jeff Samardzija

8-4 2.97 ERA

5. Chris Volstad*

5-13 4.89 ERA

Setup

Kerry Wood

3-5 3.35 ERA

Closer

Carlos Marmol

34 SV 4.01 ERA

Dale Sveum's Job: Fly under the radar

Most Important Player: SS Starlin Castro

Pirates Lineup

1. LF Alex Presley

.298 AVG 4 HR 20 RBI

2. RF Jose Tabata

.266 AVG 4 HR 21 RBI

3. CF Andrew McCutchen

.259 AVG 23 HR 89 RBI

4. 2B Neil Walker

.273 AVG 12 HR 83 RBI

5. 1B Garrett Jones

.243 AVG 16 HR 58 RBI

6. C Rod Barajas*

.230 AVG 16 HR 47 RBI

7. 3B Pedro Alvarez

.191 AVG 4 HR 19 RBI

8. SS Clint Barmes*

.244 AVG 12 HR 39 RBI

Bench

INF Casey McGehee*

.223 AVG 13 HR 67 RBI

OF Nate McLouth*

.228 AVG 4 HR 16 RBI

INF Yamaico Navarro*

.250 AVG 1 HR 9 RBI

Rotation

1. Erik Bedard*

5-9 3.62 ERA

2. Jeff Karstens

9-9 3.38 ERA

3. James McDonald

9-9 4.21 ERA

4. Kevin Correia

12-11 4.79 ERA

5. Charlie Morton

10-10 3.83 ERA

Setup 

Evan Meek

1-1 3.48 ERA

Closer

Joel Hanrahan

40 SV 1.83 ERA

Clint Hurdle's Job: Improve on last years success

Most Important Player: OF Andrew McCutchen

Astros Lineup

1. CF Jordan Schafer

.242 AVG 2 HR 13 RBI

2. SS Jed Lowrie*

.252 AVG 6 HR 36 RBI

3. LF J.D. Martinez

.274 AVG 6 HR 35 RBI

4. 1B Carlos Lee

.275 AVG 18 HR 94 RBI

5. RF Brian Bogusevic

.287 AVG 4 HR 15 RBI

6. 3B Chris Johnson

.251 AVG 7 HR 42 RBI

7. C Jason Castro

Did Not Play

8. 2B Jose Altuve

.276 AVG 2 HR 12 RBI

Bench

1B Brett Wallace

.259 AVG 5 HR 29 RBI

INF Matt Downs

.276 AVG 10 HR 41 RBI

C Chris Snyder*

.271 AVG 3 HR 17 RBI

Rotation

1. Wandy Rodriguez

11-11 3.49 ERA

2. Bud Norris

6-11 3.77 ERA

3. J.A. Happ

6-15 5.35 ERA

4. Kyle Weiland*

8-10 3.58 ERA (AAA stats)

5. Jordan Lyles

2-8 5.36 ERA

Setup

Wilton Lopez

2-6 2.79 ERA

Closer 

Brett Myers

7-14 4.46 ERA

Brad Mills' Job: Build for the future

Most Important Player: 2B Jose Altuve