The empire that the Chicago Cubs were building in the NL Central showed some cracks in 2017, and now they're going into 2018 with a loaded St. Louis Cardinals team hot on their heels.
The team they should really fear, however, is the Milwaukee Brewers.
To some, this might not be that hot of a take. Although the Cubs claimed a second straight NL Central title with a 92-70 record last year, the Brewers were in first place as late as July 25 and ultimately finished just six games back at 86-76.