NL Central

How many of you remember how the Houston Astros did in the second half of the 2010 MLB season? I’ll give ya a minute.

Okay, time’s up! They did pretty well, finishing 40-33, and a lot of that had to do with the emergence of third baseman Chris Johnson.

Who, you ask?

Well, don’t feel bad, because you can’t even find this guy on most fantasy baseball owners' maps right now, and that’s a really good thing.

Senior Fantasy Baseball Analyst, Jesse Mendelson, switches leagues to preview the National League Central's Pittsburgh Pirates' starting rotation. Jesse promises nothing, but notes Paul Maholm and company could potentially aide your fantasy baseball team in 2011.

From a fantasy perspective, the single most amazing thing about the Pirates’ 18 consecutive losing seasons is their incredible lack of mixed league-ownable starting pitching over that time.  

For being one of the most storied franchises in baseball history, the Pittsburgh Pirates have had a rough time as of late.  Each of the past 18 seasons, due to desire to cut payroll and "rebuild," the team has not had a winning record.

Even with the 2011 season fast approaching and a good core of young talent, fans are not optimistic.  No matter how well these players do, won't team management just trade them away?

There hasn’t been a lot to get excited about recently if you are a Pittsburgh Pirates fan.

In 2010, the Cincinnati Reds ended a 14-year playoff drought by winning the NL Central Division with an overall record of 91-71.

The Reds' regular-season success didn’t carry over to the postseason, as they were swept by the Philadelphia Phillies in the first round.

There are some ball teams that are genuinely strong. There are others that only look like they may be strong.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are beginning to fall into the latter category. That's already a good bit better than where they have been.

After last year's disappointing finish, Doug Melvin's plan was clear.. Milwaukee needed more pitching in order to compete in the NL Central. The Cardinals had a formidable rotation and the Reds were returning a strong club.

He first traded for Toronto Blue Jays ace Shaun Marcum. A proven innings eater, Marcum can keep hitters off balance and still pitch effectively with a fastball in the high 80's.

Next came the trade for Zack Greinke. The Brewers gave up four top prospects for Greinke and Yuni Betancourt, but Melvin wanted to win now.

Towards the end of this offseason, there were a lot of rumblings about Albert Pujols and his need for a contract extension. 

Pujols has said throughout that he wants to remain with the St. Louis Cardinals and that he would not deal with the contract once spring training had started. Although Pujols took the noble path of not allowing the contract to interfere with the current season, there was no agreement met between the two parties.

The last time the Chicago Cubs won a World Series, Teddy Roosevelt was president and World War I was six years in the future. Yeah, it's been a while.  

Three years ago the Cubs made a run at the playoffs, but a couple of bad seasons and a strong NL Central have pushed the lovable losers to the back-burner of Major League Baseball. A lot has happened since their last playoff appearance though, and a new ownership group coupled with a new manager may offer Cubs fans some hope. 

Carlos Marmol brings an exceptional strikeout rate to the closers role.  There is no arguing that fact, but that shouldn’t cause us to overlook the warts that do come with selecting him. 

Can he be one of the elite closers in the game in 2011?  Absolutely, but there is also the chance that he completely falls flat.  Which will it be?  Let’s start by taking a look at his 2010 performance: