MLB Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs Are Not Yet Serious NL Central Contenders

Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Cubs have improved dramatically so far this offseason, but the notion of the team winning the NL Central in 2015 is absurd. The Cubs are a better team now, and their record in 2015 will reflect that. However, it will be a gradual process before the Cubs reach the level that merits a contender in the major leagues.

The addition of Jon Lester gives the Cubs the ace they desperately needed, but you can’t forget about the rest of the rotation. As great as Jake Arrieta pitched last season, his career numbers prior to last season aren’t impressive by any stretch of the imagination. He will be the Cubs’ No. 2 pitcher when the season begins, but depending on how he follows up his career-year will reveal the kind of pitcher that Arrieta really is.

After Arrieta, the Cubs’ rotation consists of Jason Hammel, Travis Wood and presumably Kyle Hendricks. Hammel and Wood have both had successful stints in a Cubs uniform but have been wildly inconsistent throughout their careers. If Hendricks can build off of the success he had in 2014 at the tail-end of the season, you could see him slide into the third or fourth slot in the rotation. The moral of the story is that the Cubs’ rotation is average at best beyond Lester and Arrieta.

In addition to the questions surrounding starting pitching, the Cubs are in the top 10 for youngest rosters in MLB with an average age of 27 years old. That means this team has a lot to learn with ensuing growing pains to suffer through. The Cubs possess the best farm system in baseball, but some prospects are destined to fail, especially when they reach the MLB level. So as the prospects adjust to the major leagues, expect for the Cubs to hit a few bumps in the road.

The upside for the North Siders is astronomical, and this team will be very good in the near future. However, the Cubs will not be World Series contenders in 2015. That will come to fruition in 2016, and they will consistently be contenders beyond that point.

Chicago Cubs 2015 Prediction: (82-80)

Dan Marmaduke is a Chicago Cubs, NFL, and NBA Blogger for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @MarmadukeSports and add him to your network on Google

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