NL Central

Down on the farm, a vast majority of the St. Louis Cardinals' top 10 prospects are having noteworthy seasons.

Earning a spot on the big league roster is the ultimate goal for these young players, and the future certainly looks bright with the vast assortment of raw talent the Cardinals boast in their minor league system.

Outfielders Oscar Taveras and Stephen Piscotty are among the Cardinals prospects that are flourishing this season at Triple-A Memphis.

If the Cincinnati Reds are going to make a midseason trade to help their postseason chances, they have a pretty good trade chip in Alfredo Simon.

It's been incredible to watch Simon turn into the pitcher he is today. The Reds claimed him off of waivers from the Baltimore Orioles right before the start of the 2012 season, and he has been everything from a reliable reliever to a very good starter for the Reds.

After seven long weeks atop the Reds player power rankings, Johnny Cueto was officially lifted from the throne following a disastrous outing against the Washington Nationals. It was an odd sequence of events; the first two runs to cross the plate were unearned. By that time, Cueto had already been laboring, working nearly every full.

The Chicago Cubs turned in a 3-3 performance last week, splitting series with the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres. However, that wasn't enough for them to climb out of the No.

With the 2014 MLB draft just about a month away, the Cubs once again have a top-five pick. Last season they appeared to hit a home run by taking 3B Kris Bryant with the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, and this season they hold pick No. 4. There are several different directions the club could go, but pitching is likely to be a top priority. 

Over the last few seasons, we have seen the emergence of a number of young pitching prospects in Major League Baseball.  

Unfortunately, 2014 has been the year of torn ulnar collateral ligaments, resulting in season-ending Tommy John surgery for a lot of those young stars.  

The news came from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. Joey Votto, the Cincinnati Reds star first baseman, stayed in Cincinnati for an MRI and a consultation with team physician Dr.

In the over century-long World Series drought the Cubs are currently experiencing, they've had their fair share of heartbreak. Sometimes they've been downright bad, but sometimes they've actually had reason to get excited. Such is the case for the Cubs right now as they are building up a solid hitting farm system with potential future stars like Javier Baez, Albert Almora, Kris Bryant and Jorge Soler. 

The Pittsburgh Pirates are set to take on the New York Yankees this weekend for the first time since the 2008 regular season.  

Pittsburgh crushed New York by a score of 12-5 in the first game of the two-game series before being shut out 10-0 in the second game six years ago.    

This is an old rivalry that will be renewed when the Pirates play in their first series at the new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.  

Updates from Saturday, May 17

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick has an update on Votto's status: