National League Central Betting Preview
The National League Central may not have been the best division in baseball last season (it is hard to argue for any division outside of the AL East), but they were the only National League division last year that had three teams over .500, making them one of the most well-balanced divisions around. Sportsmemo MLB handicapper JM Sports shares his thoughts on the 2022 version of the National League Central.
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2022 NL Central Division Odds
Milwaukee ended the season as the best team in the National League not located in the NL West, while the Cardinals also surpassed the entire NL East as the second-place team in the division. Even Cincinnati, who finished in third, was four games above .500, with the Cubs and the Pirates bringing up the rear.
2022 National League Central Odds | Courtesy of Caesars as of April 6 |
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Milwaukee Brewers | -180 |
St Louis Cardinals | +225 |
Chicago Cubs | +1200 |
Cincinnati Reds | +1800 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | +7000 |
Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee was one of the top teams in the National League last season and they kept their core intact. The only major contributors that were lost this offseason were outfielders Avisail Garcia and Jackie Bradley Jr.
While they both helped propel this powerhouse of an offense last year, their shoes looked to be filled quickly with the additions of Andrew McCutchen and Hunter Renfroe. These two additions combined for 167 runs & 176 RBI’s, both producing impressive numbers in the run columns for their respective teams last season.
McCutchen posted a .778 OPS last season for Philadelphia, while Renfroe had an impressive .816 OPS for Boston last year, both coming from teams that were fighting for the postseason down the stretch and eager to get back in the hunt with Milwaukee.
St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals seem to have taken more steps back then forward in terms of offseason acquisitions, which is not something you would expect from a team that was just a few games behind the division leader and secured a Wild Card position in last year’s playoffs. Most of the pieces that parted ways with the Cardinals came from the pitching staff, leaving most of their offensive in the same situation that they left it at the conclusion on 2021.
Starting pitchers Jon Lester, Wade LeBlanc, J.A. Happ and Carlos Martinez are no longer on the roster, along with the retirement of Andrew Miller out of the bullpen.
St. Louis also parted ways with one of their biggest bats in Matt Carpenter, yet the Cardinals may have the single most influential signing of this offseason. Albert Pujols may be 42 years old, but it is hard to think of another single player in the league that left a bigger impact on a team then Pujols did at the beginning of his career playing for the Cards.
Watching and hearing the standing ovation that he received when he stepped on the field in the Cardinals uniform in spring training this season has to make you excited for the season, especially if you are from St. Louis. That one signing may leave a bigger impact on the organization and fan base then all the players that they lost this off-season.
St. Louis also added Steven Matz, which could be a huge addition to the starting rotation next to Adam Wainwright and Jack Flaherty. Matz posted a 14-7 record last season with the Blue Jays behind a 3.82 ERA in 29 games for Toronto.
Those three pitchers that are at the forefront of their pitching rotation combined for 40 wins in 76 games, but even more impressively, they combined for just 16 losses in those 76 starts! In 435.1 IP between those 3 pitchers, they also managed to fan 403 batters, while all keeping their ERA under 4.00, with Matz posting the highest ERA of the 3 starters.
Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati was the next team in line for a Wild Card spot in the playoffs last year, which for a lot of teams, would be incentive to go all-in on free agency and close that small gap on the playoff hunt. Yet, the Reds seemed to lose a lot more pieces than they gained in the offseason.
The Reds lost some depth with the departure of Asdrubal Cabrera, they lost a lot of offensive power and consistency with Nick Castellanos, Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker leaving the Reds and their pitching staff lost three big names in Sonny Gray, and relief pitchers Michael Lorenzen and Amir Garrett.
They did add Mike Minor to their starting pitching rotation, but there are question marks surrounding his name after a 2021 season with Kansas City after an 8-12 season with an ERA over 5.00, concluding with shoulder impingement syndrome, an issue that has lingered into spring training this year.
Meanwhile, the only real bat that was added this off-season was Tommy Pham, but Pham hit just .229 last season with San Diego and accounted for 123 runs in 155 games for the Padres last season.
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs took a big step back last season after a run at the top of the division, but most of the big names since their World Series team are all but gone and they finished last year 20 games below .500. Although from the looks of their offseason action, they could be looking for a quick turnaround.
There isn’t another team in the National League Central that has added more valuable pieces this offseason, and it is arguably hard to find another team in the entire league, that signed more players that could make an immediate impact.
Starting with their starting pitching rotation and the departure of Zach Davies, Chicago has not only replaced Davies, but on top of that, they added two other viable options to add to their starting rotation. They managed to add Marcus Stroman, who pitched last season with the Mets. While his record was just 10-13, he managed to keep his ERA down to 3.02 in 33 starts, and struck out 158 batters in 179 IP.
Stroman may have been the most utilized starting pitcher that they signed and posted the best ERA, but Wade Miley and Drew Smyly, the other two big signings, combined for just 11 losses last year.
Miley had a few injury concerns last year, putting him at 28 starts on the season for the Reds last year, a few less then they would have hoped I imagine, but he was 12-7 in his 28 starts and struck out 125 batters in his 163 innings on the mound last year, all backing a 3.37 ERA.
Drew Smyly may be one of the pivotal starting pitcher acquisitions this off-season, his ERA may have been a little higher then teams would have hoped, but his 11-4 record for the Braves last year was something that nearly any team would have appreciated. He lost just four games in 23 starts, and put down 117 batters on strikes in 126.2 IP with Atlanta last season.
In terms of bats, the Cubs also added utility man Jonathon Villar who has made a career out of filling the gap wherever necessary, along with shortstop Andrelton Simmons. They also added veteran catcher Yan Gomes and young powerhouse OF Clint Frazier.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh wasn’t quite the worst team in baseball last year, but they were just one of four teams last year that finished under .400. Pittsburgh finished 40 games under .500 last season, and they were the second-worst team in the Nation League, finishing ahead of only Arizona.
Although this Pittsburgh team has apparently decided to stay true to their core this offseason, and while the only major piece that they lost was P Trevor Cahill, the acquisitions this offseason were limited to Zach Thompson and Jose Quintana, who will look to replace Trevor Cahill.
Thompson started 14 games last season with Miami but he was just 3-7, although he did keep his ERA down to an impressive 3.24, while striking out 66 batters in 75 IP.
While Jose Quintana was 0-3 last season in posting a 6.43 ERA in 29 appearances (ten starts) but he did strike out 85 batters in just 63 IP, appearing 24 times for the Angels before transitioning to the Giants to end the season.
Their other additions this off-season come in the form of 1B Daniel Vogelbach, C Roberto Perez and OF Greg Allen. Vogelbach and Perez both appeared in under 100 games last season and hit under .220, while Allen’s contributions were sparse, appearing in just 15 games with the Yankees.
Interested in placing a bet on the 2022 National League Central division odds? Caesars Sports is offering up to a $1,500 match bet for first-time deposits in New Jersey, West Virginia, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, Tennessee, Arizona, New York and Louisiana.
2022 National League Preview | First Pitch
Play ball! After a very interesting offseason, the 2022 MLB season will kick off on Thursday, April 7. Join Drew Martin, Tony Finn and Adam Trigger for First Pitch as we preview the National League futures market. Which teams are poised to overachieve based on their projected win totals? Which favorites are on upset alert in their division? Join our team of MLB betting experts every weekday at 1:45pm ET / 10:45am PT for First Pitch as we discuss the baseball betting slate.
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Meet the Author
Jeff’s hunger for handicapping began at a young age being surrounded by parents that made sports betting a daily routine. Hoping to follow in the footsteps of other Cleveland handicappers like Marc Lawrence, Phil Steele, Ralph Michaels, Ed Meyer and Bryan Leonard, Jeff started his sports betting career working for both Northcoast Sports and Phil Steele Publications learning the intricacies of sports betting and becoming a profitable handicapper. Through out his college years, Jeff’s mathematical and analytical prowess helped him develop a betting strategy that turned sports betting into a profitable venture, where he focuses on the NFL, college football, NBA, college basketball and MLB while showing strong results in the WNBA.
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