If we are to believe the PECOTA projection system, the Chicago Cubs are in for a last-place finish in the NL Central this season. Not only that, it predicts the team will win a paltry 79 games. Chicago is only three years removed from winning the World Series and has won no fewer than 92 games in each of its last four seasons.
If this isn’t your queue to put less stock into computer projections, I don’t know what is. The Cubs have retained most of the core players that have helped them reach the postseason every year since 2015.