{"id":114257,"date":"2026-02-18T11:34:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T16:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=114257"},"modified":"2026-02-18T11:34:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T16:34:01","slug":"hope-springs-eternal-a-reason-for-optimism-nl-central-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/02\/18\/hope-springs-eternal-a-reason-for-optimism-nl-central-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"Hope Springs Eternal: A Reason for Optimism…NL Central Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"

With spring training here, there is optimism abounding in 30 Major League cities. Now, legit or not, every fanbase needs reasons to be excited at the start of the baseball season. Some teams are easier to come up with reasons than others, but we are going to come up with at least one totally sincere reason for each team to be excited heading into the 2026 Major League Baseball season. This is \u2026 hope springs eternal \u2026 National League Central edition.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chicago Cubs: Scintillating Southpaws<\/b><\/h2>\n

Last season, the <\/span>Chicago Cubs<\/span><\/a> reached the playoffs for the first time since 2020. That means expectations are understandably as high as the Willis Tower (formerly Sears) in the Windy City for the Cubbies. Two left-handed arms returning from injuries could play a pivotal role in the team\u2019s success: <\/span>Cade Horton<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Justin Steele<\/span><\/a>. As a rookie in 2025, in 22 starts, Horton went 11-4, with a 2.67 ERA and a 1.085 WHIP. If he didn\u2019t miss the postseason with a rib injury, who knows how far the North Siders would have gone? Steele missed most of last year after major elbow surgery in April 2025, but he should return in May or June. Once upon a time at Wrigley, Steele was an Opening Day starter, an MLB All-Star, and <\/span>a top-five NL Cy Young finisher<\/span><\/a>. In a very winnable NL Central, the expected return of two rotation-stabilizing lefties is a reason for optimism for Chicago Cubs fans.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Cincinnati Reds: Two Shots of Fireball Please<\/b><\/h2>\n

The <\/span>Cincinnati Reds<\/span><\/a>, like their Chicago rivals, broke a playoff drought in 2025. This season, the Reds are leaning on a solid starting rotation to make them contenders in the NL Central. <\/span>Last year, they had three starters with a 4.4 WAR or better<\/span><\/a>. Two young fireballers stand out in this rotation: <\/span>Chase Burns<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Hunter Greene<\/span><\/a>. Burns made his MLB debut in 2025. In only 13 outings, he had a <\/span>this-is-not-a-misprint<\/span><\/i> 13.9 SO\/9. Yes, he has to work on being more efficient to pitch deeper into games, but his electric fastball (98.7 mph average) and tight slider play well. Already the ace in Cincinnati, Hunter Greene is a lot more seasoned and just as spicy with a fastball averaging 99.5 mph (<\/span>better than any starter in MLB<\/span><\/a>). Now he has some postseason pedigree as well. With these two shots of fireball in their starting rotation, the Reds have a reason for optimism in 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Milwaukee Brewers: Good-Time Charlie<\/b><\/h2>\n

What team led Major League Baseball in wins last season<\/span><\/a>? The answer is the financially-constrained <\/span>Milwaukee Brewers<\/span><\/a>, and they are led by a popular <\/span>Good-Time Charlie<\/span><\/a>: <\/span>Pat Murphy<\/span><\/a>. In two seasons as the skipper for the Brew Crew, <\/span>Murphy has won two NL Manager of the Year awards<\/span><\/a>. Because of MLB\u2019s fiscal realities, teams like the Brewers usually have to ship out star players before losing them in free agency (i.e., <\/span>Josh Hader<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Devin Williams<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Freddy Peralta<\/span><\/a>). Regardless, this team in the NL Central just keeps on winning, and the positive vibes from their manager make them very likable. Whether it is a handshake ritual, a funny anecdote, or <\/span>a pocket pancake<\/span><\/a>, this man makes it fun in Milwaukee. When you have a manager like Murphy, the Brewers always have a reason for optimism.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Pittsburgh Pirates: A Sneaky Good Move<\/b><\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re a traditional baseball fan, how can you not want the <\/span>Pittsburgh Pirates<\/span><\/a> to be good? It\u2019s a great city with a great ballpark and a great tradition (great beer, too). In an NL Central that isn\u2019t overly scary, the Buccos made one of the least talked about moves of the offseason when they traded for <\/span>Brandon Lowe<\/span><\/a>. I\u2019m not saying this move puts Pittsburgh on par with the Dodgers, but they added a top-10 second baseman in MLB. Playing in the mighty American League East his entire career, Lowe has four times hit 20+ home runs \u2026 with some postseason experience to boot. That sort of production and pedigree could do wonders for a Pittsburgh team hoping to compete in a winnable division. When healthy, this guy packs a wallop. Although it was an <\/span>under-the-radar<\/span><\/i> move, acquiring Lowe is a reason for optimism if you\u2019re rooting for the Pirates.<\/span><\/p>\n

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St. Louis Cardinals: The Wizard Returns<\/b><\/h2>\n

The <\/span>St. Louis Cardinals<\/span><\/a>, to be kind, are in a bit of a rebuild. In fact, they have been doing more unloading this winter than someone the morning after a drunken Taco Bell run. Anyway, there is something to be excited about if you pull for the Redbirds, and his name is <\/span>Masyn Wynn<\/span><\/a>. In 2025, this young shortstop won his first Gold Glove, and I\u2019m not trying to speak in hyperbole, but could this guy be the second coming of <\/span>The Wizard<\/span><\/a>? This dude\u2019s arm and <\/span>highlight-reel plays<\/span><\/a> do harken back to that legendary St. Louis icon. It is fun to watch this guy in the field. The Cardinals may not be a favorite in the NL Central in 2026, but having a guy like Wynn at shortstop is a reason for optimism in St. Louis.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Main Photo Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With spring training here, there is optimism abounding in 30 Major League cities. Now, legit or not, every fanbase needs reasons to be excited at the start of the baseball season. Some teams are easier to come up with reasons than others, but we are going to come up with at least one totally sincere […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5735,"featured_media":99183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1071,24,28,27,35,26],"tags":[2447,3671,4938,4266,2514,1277,2182,5933,3711,21201],"class_list":["post-114257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","category-cubs","category-reds","category-brewers","category-news","category-pirates","tag-brandon-lowe","tag-cade-horton","tag-chase-burns","tag-devin-williams","tag-freddy-peralta","tag-hunter-greene","tag-josh-hader","tag-justin-steele","tag-masyn-winn","tag-pat-murphy"],"modified_by":"Augustus Oswald, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5735"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114257"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114281,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114257\/revisions\/114281"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}