NL Central

In our newest installment of the Draft Day Debate, we look at two of the top first basemen, Joey Votto and Adrian Gonzalez. 

Votto is coming off an MVP year while Gonzalez seems set for his best year yet as he enters the Red Sox offensive powerhouse. While undoubtedly fantasy owners will choose Albert Pujols first off the board and first for 1B, who will be the better pick as the second 1B to go? You decide...

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS 

Last Year: 86-76, Second in NL Central 

Manager: Tony La Russa 

PROJECTED LINEUP

C- Yadier Molina (R)

1B- Albert Pujols (R)

2B- Skip Schumaker (L) 

3B- David Freese (R)

SS- Ryan Theriot (R)

LF- Matt Holliday (R)

CF- Colby Rasmus (L)

RF- Lance Berkman (S)

The Cardinals might have the best hitter in baseball, but the lineup has some limitations.

Rickie Weeks dominated in 2010. His final stats of 112/29/83/11 and triple slash line of .269/.366/.464 were impressive to say the least.

With the rash of injuries that have hit the Milwaukee Brewers this spring, Crew fans are wondering when it's going to stop. 

It seems like it's a case of "when it rains, it pours," after Shaun Marcum left his start against the Chicago White Sox early.

After working three scoreless innings and only allowing one hit, Marcum complained of shoulder stiffness and was removed from the game.

He missed his next start and was shut down from throwing for almost a week.

Let me preface this article by saying that Jonny Gomes is one of my favorite players on the Reds.

I am wondering if being 'unofficially' awarded the left-field job prior to the start of camp hasn't sapped the slugger of his hunger.

Sometimes, when a star player goes down, the team rallies around and comes together, but the Cardinals will have to rally for an entire season. 

The loss of Adam Wainwright was the catastrophe of Spring Training, but the other 29 teams certainly don’t feel sorry for St. Louis.  The Cardinals went from having one of the best starting rotations in baseball to one with several question marks.

The Pirates are in the midst of 18 consecutive losing seasons, and that number will most likely hit 19 after this season. 

They scored the fewest runs in the NL last season, and also gave up the most.  That equaled to a minus-279 run differential.

There are glimmers of hope, and it starts with Andrew McCutchen, the best center fielder in baseball.  They also have some other young studs in Pedro Alvarez, Jose Tabata and Neil Walker.  

ALSO CHECK OUT

Recent news surrounding the status of Johnny Cueto, as it pertains to his inflamed shoulder, has Reds fans a bit concerned.  

It was announced that Cueto will take 7-10 days off before he resumes throwing again. That will keep him Arizona-bound when the rest of the team breaks camp to head off to Cincinnati for opening day.

Spring Training is primarily used to get the players ready for the season as well as allow players to battle it out for any open spots in the lineup. The Astros roster was pretty much set before pitchers and catchers showed up so this was a good opportunity for management to evaluate some of it's young talent.

Mark Rogers, Cody Scarpetta lead the way for Milwaukee's top prospects; what other prospects should we take note of?

By now, it should be no surprise to know that the Milwaukee Brewers have accumulated some of the most promising young stars via the draft over the past few seasons.

Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Yovani Gallardo and Rickie Weeks are just a few examples of Milwaukee's uncanny ability to recognize future difference makers within the organization.