The National League Central Is No Joke

Growing up a Yankees fan I was led to believe that the American League East reigned superior to all of the other divisions in baseball. The Yankees and Red Sox were suppose to battle for every division crown while the other teams fought for 3rd place.

Yet while the East is still a dogfight as history would have it, another division is making it's case to be the premiere pennant race in baseball.

It the season were to end today, the NL Central would be sending three teams to play in October. And it's not a fluke, they're three good teams fighting for those playoff spots.

The Centrals current leader is the St. Louis Cardinals. During spring training I had some concerns with this teams and mainly their starting rotation.

Losing Kyle Lohse and Chris Carpenter for potentially the entire season, I doubted whether they could pitch their way to the top of the young and improving NL Central.

It's showing that I was far off on the prediction as the biggest strength has in fact been their starting rotation. The Cards rank 1st in all of the majors in team ERA (3.16) and in starter ERA (2.61). No other team in baseball has a starter ERA of under 3.00.

Lance Lynn is showing us that his 18-7 record in 2012 was no joke and through his first nine starts, he's 6-1 with an ERA of 3.27. Rookie Shelby Miller is dominating the league with his 1.74 ERA, allowing only 11 runs in 57.0 innings.

For a rotation that's already good, it could get even better with the possible return is Chris Carpenter. The 38-year old was dealing with nerve issues in his neck during spring training and was contemplating retirement. Now Carpenter could possibly make a return to the Cards rotation in July.

My only concern with the St. Louis Cardinals is the fact that their bullpen ranks 27th in the league. With a season ending injury to Jason Mott and the mighty struggles of Mitchell Boggs and Marc Rzepczynski has promoted Edward Mujica as the clubs closer.

Though Mujica hasn't disappointed since claiming the closer role, capturing all 16 of his saves chances along with walking the tune of a 2.25 ERA and strikeout to walk rate of 19/1. Along Trevor Rosenthal, Mujica is helping to bring the Cards bullpen back to life.

Far from last in bullpen ERA, the Pittsburgh Pirates are once again showing their fans early on that there's something special to believe in.


The Pirates are tied with the Reds for 2nd in the Central and lead all of the majors with a bullpen ERA of 2.74.

When Joel Hanrahan was traded to the Red Sox back in December, I thought that the Pirates bullpen would be missing a big piece of the 2013 success plan. Luckily for Pittsburgh it was the best thing that could happen to them this season.

Hanrahan was forced to make the decision to undergo season ending Tommy John Surgery a couple weeks back, after already dealing with hamstring issues.

Stepping in the closer role to replace Hanrahan was Jason Grilli. Coming into the season, Grilli had only record 5 career saves and the 36-year old is leading the majors with a perfect 19 saves in 19 chances this season. 

Yet Grilli might not even be the best relief arm the Pirates will throw at you. Mark Melancon has come out of Pittsburgh's bullpen 25 times this season. In 25 innings he's only surrendered two runs, and has a strikeout to walk ratio of 26/1.

The Pittsburgh Pirates aren't a team that will blow you out of the water with 10 runs a night. They have a middle of the pack offense that's backed up by a front horse pitching staff. And baring another 2nd half collapse they'll certainly be vying for a postseason bid.

Ranking 3rd in the league in team ERA is the Cincinnati Reds. They're the 3rd team NL Central team that would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. 

The Reds, like the Pirates, are one of the best home teams in baseball at 16-6. Home is where the Reds bullpen is at it's best.

Johnathan Broxton hasn't allowed an earned run in 10.2 innings at Great American Ballpark this season. Sam LeCure has given up one run in 12 innings.

Aroldis Chapman has an ERA of 1.38 in 13 innings with a 26/3 strikeout to walk ratio. In simpler terms, the Reds will win when leading late at home.

If there's one thing that can set apart the Reds from their counterparts, it's that the Reds score runs. Cincinnati is 2nd in the National League in runs scored and tied for 3rd in the homerun department. 

Joey Votto got off to a slow power start, but has turned it lately and now has 7 homeruns while still batting .358 with 22 RBI's and a major league leading 41 walks. They say a walk is as good as a hit. Joey Votto draws walks and gets hits.

When the three of these teams are healthy and playing strong it makes for a lot of fun baseball to watch. When the three of these teams are battling for the division title at the end of September, it'll be ever more fun to watch.

It's hard for me to decide right now which team will finish on top once all 162 (or even 163) games have been played. But I can say that at this moment, is not the AL East on top anymore. The National League Central is where the real competition is at.

Follow @GavinEwbank2013 on Twitter.