New acquisition Peter Bourjos will likely push John Jay out of center field and might very well push Matt Carpenter out of the leadoff spot, since I don't know who else would bat second. Plus I'd rather have him there anyway, a lefty doubles machine in front of the big power hitters like Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina. GM John Mozeliak brought in some new faces for the middle infield: convicted cheater Jhonny Peralta will take on the full-time shortstop job after playing some left field for the Tigers in last year's postseason, while Mark Ellis will provide backup at second base for MLB's #58 prospect Kolten Wong. Even after his strong performance last year, Michael Wacha isn't taking his spot in the rotation for granted, which is wise with swingman Joe Kelly hanging around and pornography enthusiast Carlos Martinez potentially able to start in the near future. Overall this is a very strong team with very few weaknesses that only looks to get better in the future (exhibit A: #3 prospect Oscar Taveras on the 40 man roster).
After the Pirates had their first winning season in 20 years, they didn't do too much to improve the team during the off-season. But with a superstar like Andrew McCutchen anchoring the lineup and strong talented up-and-comers like Starling Marte and Gerrit Cole working their way towards stardom, you don't necessarily have to do too much. Gaby Sanchez and Jose Tabata will try to replace departed midseason acquisitions Justin Morneau and Marlon Byrd, although Chris McGuinness and Andrew Lambo are potential left-handed platoon partners. According to MLB's player rankings, Edinson Volquez has the inside track on the fifth starter spot, although he'll have competition (what else is new?) from 2013 rookie Jeff Locke (who would likely have much better chances if he hadn't flamed out down the stretch last year), swingman Jeanmar Gomez, and youngster Brandon Cumpton.
However few moves Pittsburgh made to improve the lineup, Cincinnati made fewer. Which means they're counting on big injury comebacks from Johnny Cueto in the rotation and Ryan Ludwick in the outfield. The Reds are also betting big on #37 prospect Billy Hamilton to get on base enough in the leadoff spot to make use of his blazing speed. It's a lot of pressure to put on a 23-year-old, but if you steal 155 bases in the minors, people are going to have some expectations. Unlike Michael Wacha, after filling in for Cueto for the brunt of last season, Tony Cingrani can look forward to a full year starting every fifth day. Like the other teams in this division, Cincinnati has a pretty strong swingman/long reliever in Alfredo Simon, but in my lineup I put the guys who are most likely to get a lot of appearances setting up rather than the ones who might rack up more points throwing lower leverage innings.
The biggest question surrounding the Brewers is how Ryan Braun will perform after his yearlong suspension from baseball. The next biggest question for Milwaukee is who will play first base. Juan Francisco is the best option on the roster, but NRI's Mark Reynolds and Lyle Overbay likely have a better shot of holding down the job. Speaking of holding down the job, this could be the first season in almost a decade that Rickie Weeks doesn't start at second base, although he might platoon with Scooter Gennett against lefties. New acquisition Matt Garza might get the chance to start on opening day, but he's pretty similar statistically to Marco Estrada and Kyle Lohse. Meanwhile, Yovani Gallardo's stock has really fallen since his days as the team's ace just a few years ago. This is another deep bullpen thanks to the acquisitions of former closer Francisco Rodriguez and lefty Will Smith. And if anything should happen to any of their starters, Tom Gorzelanny, Tyler Thornburg, and Alfredo Figaro can all start in a pinch.
I really wasn't sure who would bat leadoff for the Cubs. Junior Lake would stole some bases in the minors and I recently saw that he was listed as a Topps 2014 "Power Player" so he's as good a choice as any I guess. If/when non-roster invitee Emilio Bonifacio makes the team, he could see some time at the top of the order as well, as he can play just about anywhere and is much more accomplished offensively than Darwin Barney. Chicago has the distinction of likely having not one but two rotation spots up for competition during the spring. Hammel and Arrieta are the frontrunners, but they brought in James McDonald to provide competition and former Rangers prospect Justin Grimm pitched very well after coming over in the trade for Matt Garza. The Cubs are also the only team in the division to bring in a new closer in Jose Veras, not that a) Kevin Gregg will be such a tough act to follow or b) there will be a surplus of leads to save. Them's those lovable losers for ya.
So those are my predictions that I made to the best of my ability with the not insignificant amount of information I gathered for the purpose, and I'm sticking to them, whether I like it or not, cuz they're on the Internet now. That is, until someone gets hurt or one of the few remaining important free agents get signed. So there's nothing left to do now but watch the spring games and see how things shape up before opening day.
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