CHICAGO — Baseball’s National League Central division is making headlines as the sport’s only division where every single team maintains a winning record this season.
The division boasts an impressive roster of talent, from reigning NL Cy Young Award recipient Paul Skenes to emerging rookies including Sal Stewart, Konnor Griffin, and JJ Wetherholt. The mix also features rising stars such as Elly De La Cruz alongside established veterans like Christian Yelich.
“I think it’s a really good division,” Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman commented. “Obviously, good pitching, good offenses, and all the teams have gotten off to a good start. So we know that we’ve got our work cut out for us in this division.”
As of Tuesday, this marks only the second-latest point in any season where all NL Central teams have maintained records above .500, according to Sportradar data. The latest occurrence was May 29, 2004, when the division included six teams and each held records of 23-22 or better.
Division-wide performance shows the NL Central and NL West both posting 80-61 composite records, while the AL East follows at 73-69. The remaining divisions — NL East (64-79), AL Central (66-79), and AL West (66-80) — all show losing records collectively.
This success becomes even more remarkable considering four NL Central teams ranked among baseball’s 12 lowest payrolls on opening day.
“There are good athletes in the NL Central. The style of play is interesting,” St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol observed. “You see how collectively they play the game and where their record’s at right now.”
Cincinnati leads the division at 18-10, driven by performances from Cruz and Stewart. Chicago trails by 1.5 games, while Pittsburgh sits third at 16-13. St. Louis holds a 15-13 record, and Milwaukee rounds out the standings at 14-13.
Milwaukee captured the division title in 2025 for three straight years, while both Chicago and Cincinnati earned wild card playoff berths.
“We had three teams in the playoffs last year. We were the only division in the National League to have three,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy noted. “In previous years, we’ve never had respect. … The (division) has been very good and last year was evidence. This year is not surprising.”
While Chicago made a splash by signing Bregman to a five-year, $175 million contract, and both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh added significant pieces during the offseason, much of the division’s success stems from an influx of talented young hitters.
At 22 years old, Stewart paces all of baseball with 29 RBIs across 28 games for Cincinnati. Fellow 22-year-old Moisés Ballesteros maintains a .387 batting average through 25 games with Chicago. Meanwhile, 23-year-old Wetherholt has launched solo home runs in his previous three consecutive games.
Griffin, who inked a nine-year, $140 million deal with Pittsburgh on April 8, appears to be finding his rhythm after a sluggish beginning. He celebrated his 20th birthday Friday by hitting his first career home run.
“A ton of young talent in the division, and I feel like that’s really exciting,” Bregman said.
The Central’s success also reflects a disciplined approach at the plate throughout the division.
Chicago leads the National League with 130 walks, followed closely by Milwaukee at 126 and Cincinnati at 119. Pittsburgh ranks fifth with 110 walks, while St. Louis has drawn 103 free passes.
“It’s about trying to put together quality at-bats and those are leading to walks,” Brewers outfielder Garrett Mitchell explained. “It’s part of our identity, putting together quality at-bats.”
The true test awaits as division rivals begin facing each other more frequently. St. Louis played its first divisional matchup Monday night, rallying for a 4-2 victory at Pittsburgh. Cincinnati, Chicago, and Milwaukee have each completed only three division games so far.
“It’s a lot of really good teams,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “When you look at the way we got three teams into the playoffs last year and the way we’ve started out this year with all five teams playing good baseball, it’s been a lot of fun. It’s cool to see the division be so strong. There’s going to be a lot of really good games.”
