NL Central
Milwaukee Brewers: It wouldn’t be surprising if four Brewers (Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta and Josh Hader) end up getting Cy Young votes. The rotation’s 3.13 ERA was second-best in baseball. The May trade for Willy Adames was one of the best early-season deals in recent memory, with the shortstop going on to post an .886 OPS with 20 HR, 58 RBI and 99 games for Milwaukee. The division title comes with former MVP Christian Yelich (.736 OPS) continuing to struggle with injuries. … A+
St. Louis Cardinals: A 17-game winning streak in September sure changes the narrative, huh? They are in the postseason. St. Louis had a nice mix of veterans and young players who delivered in the clutch but again, that winning streak covered up a lot of the team’s issues from the first five months. … B+
Cincinnati Reds: If the Cardinals hadn't caught fire, the Reds may have wound up with the NL's second wild-card spot. Cincinnati won 83 games and stayed in the hunt until the final week while Joey Votto had a renaissance and Jesse Winker and Nick Castellanos started the All-Star Game. … B
Chicago Cubs: Things started off so well! The Cubs were in first place as late as June 24 and we weren’t sure whether they would sell off or commit to one last run with the core. In the end, the Cubs traded Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez, among others, in one of the more dramatic firesales in history. They had some fun after the break, namely Frank Schwindel hitting .338 with 13 homers and 40 RBI in 56 games, but what a bummer 2021 turned out to be. ... D+
Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates had two players – Adam Frazier and Bryan Reynolds – start in the All-Star Game and Ke’Bryan Hayes could dethrone Nolan Arenado for a Gold Glove at third base this year. Otherwise, the only thing of note was that The 2018 Chris Archer Trade got even worse this year with Shane Baz debuting for the Rays. … F