Who has the best players/team in the NL Central??

Lets take a bit to check out the NL Central players and see who has the best player by position.

Best Catcher-

Yadier Molina- Cardinals. Hands down the best catcher going into next year. He has a cannon of an arm, and that makes up for his bat. If you were talking offense, I would have to say either Paulino or Soto but Yadier wins the Catcher spot.

Best 1st baseman-

Albert Pujols- Cardinals. It hurts me to say it but everyone knows he is the best power hitting first baseman in the game. He is a future HOFer and a great player. But defensively Lee has him beat.

Best 2nd baseman-

Brandon Phillips- Reds. Hands down the best 2nd baseman. .288 avg, 30 homers, and 94 rbi is damn good. Not to mention his 32 SB and .990 fielding percentage.

Best SS-

Miguel Tejada- Astros. I know he was on the Mitchell report but stats wise he is the best shortstop. It is a close race between Gonzo, Hardy, and Wilson but I give the edge to Tejada.

Best 3b-

Aramis Ramirez-Cubs. No one even touches him. He should have won the gold glove last year. He has a killer bat. No one in the Central comes close to him.

Best LF-

Alfonso Soriano -Cubs. You can argue Carlos Lee is the best but I give the edge to Sori. He has a great arm and plays good defense for a guy only in this 2nd year in LF. His speed and power make the pitchers in the Central shake in there boots.

Best CF-

Tie. Every team in the Central has new guys playing in center next year except the Brewers and Reds. Both Hall and Freel had off years and the other guys patrolling CF don't have enough experience for me to gage who is the best. Should be great to see all the young guys next year!

Best RF-

Corey Hart- Brewers. He had a great year last year hitting .295 with 24 homers 81 rbi and 23 stolen bases. He is going to be in RF for the Brewers for many years to come and they should look forward to that! A very close 2nd is Hunter Pence. He had a great year also hitting .322 with 17 homers and 69 rbi. I give the edge to Hart because of his speed and defense in RF.

Best Starting Rotation-

Brewers/Cubs. I consider this a tie. The Cubs have the best three in the Cental( Z, Lilly, and Hill) but the Brewers have the most solid rotation( Sheets, Suppan, Yovani Gallardo, Villanueva, Bush, Parra, and Vargas). They have have some young guys mixed with veterans. If Sheets stays healthy they are tough. If he doesn't than give the Cubs a huge edge.

Best Bench-

Cubs. I think this is a no brainer. They have one of the best pinch hitters in the game in Ward. They have speed and defense with Cedeno, Font, and Fuld. A great defensive catcher in Blanco and good young outfielder in Murton. I would like to see a team that is better equip from top to bottom than the Cubs are. Especially if they acquire Roberts and move Derosa to a utility role.

Best Pen-

Cubs/Brewers. Both have strengths and weakness in the pen but both have really good setup men and closers. It is tough to chose between the two. Would you rather face Howry, Wood, and Marmol or Turnbow, Riske, and Gagne?? Both are tough! You could argue the Sros have a good pen but they don't. All they have is a good closer in my opinion.

Best Manager-

Sweet Lou-Cubs. Takes a team from worst to first! Enough said!


Now who is the best overall team in the Central?? I will give it to the Cubs! From top to bottom they are the most complete defensively and offensively. They have power in the corners, great top 3 rotation, solid bench, and deadly pen. They have power and speed along with a great manger who won the Central last year. I see the Cubs the team to beat next year followed by the Brewers, Astros, and Cards.