- St. Louis Cardinals (88-74) - Only the Cardinals can lose Albert Pujols and still be the favorites in their division. Still, Beltran and Berkman? What is this, the 2004 Astros? Yeah, their window of opportunity may not be open too much longer. Their pitching is key to sustained success with Adam Wainwright coming back.
- Cincinnati Reds (85-77) - Mat Latos bolsters their rotation and Sean Marshall bolsters their bullpen, though I still question if Joey Votto has enough protection in that lineup.
- Milwaukee Brewers (84-78) - The starting pitching remains solid but their offense has been depleted. As much as I love Aramis Ramirez, he can't replace Prince Fielder. This isn't 2006. Yuneisky Betancourt could also prove to be a bigger loss than they realize. Milwaukee is going with Alex Gonzalez at shortstop in 2012, who is an upgrade over Betancourt defensively but a zero offensively. Though at his age, you have to wonder how much longer he'll be a plus defensively. Most importantly, how will Ryan Braun respond to his rather adventurous offseason?
- Chicago Cubs (75-87) - The last two years, I made the mistake of predicting my team to finish second. I won't make that same mistake this year, as this team is definitely rebuilding. If nothing else, the starting rotation can't possibly be worse than it was last year, when Rodrigo Lopez (who?) had the second-best ERA on the staff. Dale Sveum was also an interesting hire. As a player in the late 80's, he suffered a career-threatening leg injury only to stick around for another ten years as a bench player. In other words, he won't quit on the team like Lou Pinella did his last two years here.
- Pittsburgh Pirates (72-90) - They overachieved during the first half of 2011 and faded quickly after the All-Star break. Youngsters Jose Tabata and Pedro Alvarez need to step up.
- Houston Astros (66-96) - The rotation, namely Brett Myers and J.A. Happ, returned to earth in 2011, and that spelled disaster for them condering they had one of the N.L.'s worst offenses. Meanwhile, Carlos Lee continues to drive in runs even at his advanced age and J.D. Martinez is a good-looking young hitter.
- RF David DeJesus (.268, 12 HR, 53 RBI, .342 OBP)
- 2B *Orlando Hudson (.272, 10 HR, 50 RBI, 15 steals)
- SS Starlin Castro (.295, 15 HR, 85 RBI, 16 steals)
- 1B Bryan LaHair (.274, 20 HR, 72 RBI)
- CF Marlon Byrd (.283, 11 HR, 61 RBI)
- LF Alfonso Soriano (.270, 22 HR, 80 RBI)
- 3B Ian Stewart (.239, 20 HR, 55 RBI)
- C Geovany Soto (.246, 15 HR, 46 RBI)
- Pitcher's spot
Previously
- A.L. Central (4/3)
- A.L. West (3/31)







