Can Surging Cardinals Steal NL Central From Powerhouse Cubs?

The Chicago Cubs have been looked at as the clear favorites to win the National League Central for a few months now. Chicago made huge additions like Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly in the offseason. While the Cubs were upgrading, everybody else in the division was seemingly downgrading, even the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals let a few veterans, including Paul Goldschmidt, leave in free agency before reportedly shopping stars like Erick Fedde and Nolan Arenado. Despite this, the Cardinals have exceeded expectations quite a bit this season.

St. Louis currently rides an impressive nine game win streak which has saw its record go from 14-19 to 23-19 in just over a week. It's crazy how quickly something can change if a team runs off a win streak like this.

But can the Cardinals actually steal the National League Central from the Cubs?

This is a complex question to answer. Obviously, in baseball, anything can happen. So, yes, it's possible the Cardinals can win the division. But it's unlikely.

The Cubs will likely be much more aggressive at the trade deadline than the Cardinals will. Chicago could be eyeing superstars to add in order to catch up with the Los Angeles Dodgers while the Cardinals might target one or two controllable players.

If St. Louis can continue winning and take an aggressive approach at the trade deadline, it could close the gap on the Cubs. The two teams are only separated by one game right now, but their records in May don't mean much in the grand scheme of things.

Either way, the Cardinals are hot. They can't seem to lose at this moment. The pitching staff is throwing as well as anybody's staff in the league and the vibes are at an all time high. Only time will tell what will happen with the division.