So say the voters in the recent survey.
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Chicago Cubs fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. This edition of SB Nation Reacts is sponsored by FanDuel.
There’s been a lot of angst surrounding the way Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer approached the offseason, even with the acquisition of Kyle Tucker.
Nevertheless, according to the most recent SB Nation Reacts survey, the Cubs should be the favorite to win the NL Central:
Among fans in the survey who specifically identify as Cubs fans, the percentage of voters who thought the Cubs would finish first in the division was even higher:
I’ll have more to say about this as we get closer to Opening Day, but at this time I concur with these results. The Cubs are, in my view, a better team than they were in 2024. Further, the other teams in the division appear to have regressed. The Brewers, for example, don’t appear to be a 93-win team anymore, as they were last year. The Cardinals are in what we might call a “rebuild that isn’t a rebuild.” (Wonder where we’ve heard that before?) The Pirates, despite the presence of Paul Skenes, are still the Pirates. The Cubs’ biggest competition in the division, in fact, could come from the Reds, who have some good young players and a previous pennant-winning manager in Terry Francona.
The Cubs, of course, will play two regular-season games in Japan in less than four weeks. The rest of the regular season starts in just 33 days. Are you ready?