NL Central Update

Who's Hot: Marlon Byrd has been absolutely raking this spring and leads the Cubs with 13 hits in 23 at bats. He's added 4 doubles and scored 7 runs in 9 games. Starlin Castro, looking to build on a solid rookie campaign in which he hit .300 with 31 doubles, is second on the team with 10 hits and batting .370. Randy Wells has not given up an earned run in 9 innings of work this spring, Ryan Dempster has worked 12 innings and struck out 12 while posting a 1.50 ERA in his 3 starts, and Carlos Zambrano has allowed just 1 earned run in his 3 starts (8 innings). Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood have combined to strike out 15 batters in 8 innings of work.

Who's Not: Neither of the Cubs major additions this offseason, Matt Garza and Carlos Pena, are off to solid starts this spring. Garza has allowed 11 runs in 6 2/3 innings while allowing 15 baserunners during that span while Pena has just 4 hits in his first 20 at bats. Koyie Hill is 0 for 15 to start the spring. Carlos Silva allowed 14 runs over 3 1/3 innings in his 2 spring starts.

Of Note: The Cubs are hoping that Aramis Ramirez bounces back from his forgettable 2010 season. A career .282 hitter, Ramirez hit just .241. His on base percentage was his lowest since 2002 and he struck out at the highest rate since his first year in the majors. He batted just .152 in April and .173 May before finally coming around in the second half. His average after the all star break was .276 and he his OPS was nearly 200 points higher than it was in the first half of the season. If Ramirez can maintain that level of production, and Carlos Pena makes the adjustment to National League pitching, the two should make a formidable tandem in the middle of the Cubs order.


CINCINNATI REDS

Who's Hot: Reds Minor League Hitter of the Year for 2010 Dave Sappelt is getting some looks this spring after hitting .524 (11/21) with a pair of homeruns  and 2 stolen bases so far. Sappelt hit .342 across 3 levels with 32 doubles, 11 triples and 10 homeruns, and added 25 steals last season. Chris Valaika is another young player turning some heads. After a quick callup at the end of last season, he's hitting .409 (9/22) to start the spring. Flamethrowing Cuban Aroldis Chapman has struck out 7 hitters in 5 innings of work while allowing just 3 hits. Jared Burton and Sam LeCure each have 6 shutout innings.

Who's Not: Jonny Gomes has just 1 hit in 17 at bats. Jay Bruce is 3 for 17 with no extra base hits. Joey Votto is batting .211 (4/19) with 8 strike outs and Drew Stubbs is hitting .238 (5/21) but has struck out 9 times already this spring.

Of Note: The defending NL Central champions were thought to be the team of the future in the division with young up and coming stars like Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, Drew Stubbs, Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake, Edinson Volquez, Homer Bailey and Aroldis Chapman. But everything came together earlier than expected and the Reds found themselves atop the division. The Reds didn't make any significant additions this offseason, but with the Cardinals dealing with injuries to their rotation, the division becomes a little more wide open and there's no reason to think the Reds won't be right back in the thick of things.


HOUSTON ASTROS

Who's Hot: Hunter Pence leads the team with 13 hits and is batting .448 so far this spring. Chris Johnson leads the team with 6 RBIs and is hitting .333 (9/27). Matt Downs has 2 homeruns and a .273 average (6/22) and Jason Michaels is also off to a good start hitting .364 (8/22). Humberto Quintero is 5 for 13 with 4 of his 5 hits doubles. Wilton Lopez has thrown 4 perfect innings of relief this spring and J.A. Happ has not allowed an earned run in 2 starts. Nelson Figueroa is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his two spring starts and top propsect Jordan Lyles has a 2.25 ERA in 3 spring appearances.

Who's Not: Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers have pitched 16 2/3 innings this spring but given up 25 hits and 16 runs. Free agent acquisition Billy Hall is 4 for 22 so far this spring, and Brian Bogusevic, coming into camp hoping to earn a roster spot is just 5 for 24 with 5 strikeouts and no walks.

Of Note: The Astros finally thought they had found their catcher of the future in Jason Castro, but he injured his knee this spring and will now miss the entire 2011 season. That leaves the primary backup Quintero and a bunch of question marks behind him. J.R. Towles has not hit over .200 in any of the last 3 seasons (.137 in 2008, .188 in 2009, and .191 in 2010). Carlos Corporan has just 1 major league at bat and hit .290 in AAA  last year with 12 homeruns in 286 at bats. Brian Esposito finally had his first major league at bat last season at age 31, but hit just .203 in the minors last season. Rene Garcia turns 21 in a little over a week, but hasn't played above A ball in his brief pro career. So there you have it. Not a lot of options. There's been talk that they may look for outside help but it remains to be seen if anything with materialize.


MILWAUKEE BREWERS

Who's Hot: Erick Almonte, who hasn't played in the majors since 2003 with the Yankees is 16 for 35 (.457) with 3 homers and 9 RBIs as he tries to play his way onto the team. Brandon Boggs (.344) and Jeremy Reed (.355) each have 11 hits already this spring. Carlos Gomez is hitting .346 (9/26) with 3 steals. Casey McGehee is tied with Almonte for the team lead with 3 homers. Yovani Gallardo has 11 strikeouts in just 8 2/3 innings with a 3.12 ERA.

Who's Not: Tim Dillard has a 14.40 ERA in 5 innings of work. Randy Wolf has given up 10 runs on 8 hits with 4 walks in just 3 innings of work. Craig Counsell only has 2 hits in 24 at bats.

Of Note: The front end of the Brewers rotation has a chance to be one of the best in the league, and certainly the best in the division in 2011. Gallardo has posted at least 200 strikeouts with ERAs under 4.00 in each of the last two seasons and was an all star last year. The Brewers also added Zack Greinke, the American League's 2009 Cy Young Award Winner, and Shaun Marcum who was 34-21 over the last 3 seasons with Toronto. With hitters like Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, and Rickie Weeks, the Brewers have the potential to give those three a ton of run support which could be bad news for the rest of the division.


PITTSBURGH PIRATES

Who's Hot: Lyle Overbay leads the Pirates this spring with 2 homeruns. Pedro Alvarez and Greg Jones are tied for the team lead in RBIs with 5. Pedro Ciriaco (8/21) and Andrew McCutchern (7/25) are also swinging the bats well for Pittsburgh. Brian Burres has thrown 9 shutout innings this spring while Sean Gallagher and Michael Crotta have each gone 5 innings without allowing a run.

Who's Not: Ryan Doumit has 3 hits in his first 17 spring at bats. Steve Pearce is hitting .182 (4/22) and has struck out 9 times this spring. Kevin Correia (7.56), Fernando Nieve (11.81) and Joel Hanrahan (12.27) have all had a rough time on the mound so far this spring.

Of Note: There's not a lot of exciting stuff to talk about when it comes to the Pirates. Last year they won just 57 games and I don't know that there are many reasons to be optimistic that things are going to get much better. One bright spot will be Andrew McCutchern. Last year was his first full year in the majors and he hit .286 with 94 runs, 35 doubles, 16 homers, and 33 steals. A true 5-tool guy, he's one reason to watch the Bucs play.


ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

Who's Hot: Matt Carpenter has 11 hits in 11 games this spring with a .458 average, 2 doubles, 2 triples and 6 runs batted in. John Jay has a team high 9 RBIs and 5 extra base hits while batting .303 (10/33). Kyle Lohse has thrown 7 innings and allowed just 2 runs in winning his first 2 starts. Kyle McClellan has a 1.29 ERA in his 7 innings as he makes a strong bid for Adam Wainwright's empty spot in the rotation. Fernando Salas has tossed 6 shutout innings and allowed just 1 hit.

Who's Not: It's hard to ever say that Albert Pujols isn't hot, but he's struck out an uncharacteristic 7 times in 22 at bats. Ramon Vazquez, in his first year with the Cards is hitting just .125 (2/16). Ryan Theriot has also scuffled a bit in the early going batting just .208, but he does have 5 walks and just 1 strikeout.

Of Note: The Cardinals got a scare earlier this spring when Chris Carpenter went down with a hamstring injury. With Adam Wainwright already done for the year, the Cards can ill afford to lose their other ace. This is not a team that can win the central with Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook as their aces.