C. Trent Rosecrans

crosecrans@enquirer.com

That 17 players were selected from the National League Central for the league's All-Star game is just a small bit of evidence of the division's competitiveness. Another is that four teams are within 3 1/2 games of the division-leading Brewers at the All-Star break, including the Reds. Cincinnati is just 1 1/2 back, but sitting in third place.

Last season three of the five National League playoff spots went to NL Central teams, and it wouldn't be a surprise if that happened again this season – three NL Central teams are within three games of the wild card lead.

"This is a four-team race. I don't think any one of these teams is going to back off," said Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter. "I don't see any of them taking off and running away with it, either. I think it's going to come down to the end. It's going to be a fight. I hope the St. Louis Cardinals end up on top of that, but it's going to be a battle, and it's going to be fun."

That was an opinion shared by most of the NL Central All-Stars in Minneapolis this week.

While each of the four teams have had their successes this season, they still have questions.

Brewers (53-43): While the Brewers jumped out to a big lead early, they saw it shrink going into the All-Star Break, limping to a 3-11 mark before sending three starters to the All-Star Game. While the Brewers' ability to score runs is tough to question, both the rotation and bullpen have shown cracks as of late.

Cardinals (52-44, 1 GB): For years, Cardinals fans and observers have said that no player means more to the overall success of his team than Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina. Molina, they argue, is not only a dominant offensive player, but also the reason St. Louis has been able to plug in pitchers anytime it needs and get a solid performance. So forget the fact that Jaime Garcia is out for the year and nobody knows when Michael Wacha is returning to the rotation, it's the loss of Molina that gives the Cardinals pause about their chances to make yet another trip to the postseason. Molina, like the Reds' Brandon Phillips, is out for the foreseeable future after undergoing surgery to repair ligaments in his thumb. The Cardinals put a 8-to-12 week timetable on Molina, while the Reds quoted six weeks for Phillips with a similar injury.

Reds (51-44, 1.5 GB): The Reds had five All-Stars, and Joey Votto and Phillips weren't among them. Pitchers Homer Bailey and Mat Latos each left their last starts early with injuries and Aroldis Chapman limped off the field after recording two outs in the eighth of the All-Star Game on Tuesday. All three pitchers insist they'll be ready on Friday when the Reds face the Yankees to kick off the second half.

Pirates (49-46, 3.5 GB): Andrew McCutchen has followed up his MVP season with another award-worthy season, and the Pirates offense has been steady around him. But the rotation is still suspect, as Francisco Liriano has looked much more like the 2012 version than the 2013 version and Gerritt Cole is still on the disabled list.

Because of all these questions, there doesn't seem to be a real clear-cut favorite. A former NL Central stalwart, A's pitcher Jeff Samardzija – who until very recently was a Cub – said he couldn't really predict who would come out of the Central, just that he knows it'll be a tough race.

"It's kind of becoming the black-and-blue division of baseball," Samardzija said. "They beat up on each other, not because there's a lack of talent, but because there's an overwhelming amount of talent and great organizations, too, which from the outside looking in, I don't know if there's another division with that many organizations that have been doing it (for a while).

"The Cardinals have been really tearing it up for a decade now. On top of that, you have the Brewers, who are one of the most consistent hitting teams in the league as long as I can remember. The only thing that has been their downfall is injuries to pitchers or a lack of pitching – which they really took care of this offseason by signing (Matt) Garza and bringing back a couple of their guys. And then there's the Reds and what they've done over the past handful of years. Anytime you have a Votto in the lineup along with Jay Bruce and the way (Todd) Frazier's swinging it – good luck.

"Now you go on top of that and add the Pirates over the last three, four years. I know they didn't finish above .500 in some of those years, but they were still a darn good team and you could tell they'd taken a turn. Obviously they stopped doing sell-offs, which helped them build a unit. So you're looking at our teams that are going to be fighting against each other for a long time to come now."

What do the players have to say?

Cardinals 3B Matt Carpenter

"You can't replace Yadier Molina and what he does, but that being said, we're confident in the guy that is going to replace him. He's done a great job for us the last couple of days and we think he can do a great job going forward. The biggest thing is his presence is going to be hard to fill. Hopefully we can get him back soon. We'll just continue on."

Reds C Devin Mesoraco

"I think it's hard to imagine what's going to happen because everyone's so tight and everyone's right there. With all the division games left, almost anything can happen. Whether it's the hottest team or the team that just puts it together – and hopefully it's us. Hopefully we can get the lead and get some breathing room."

Brewers C Jonathan Lucroy

"I really think it's going to be a dogfight. I think the four teams being who they are, with Cincy, Pittsburgh, Cardinals and us – you can't even put off the Cubs, they'll beat you if you let up on them. The teams we have in this division, we just beat up on each other. There's a lot of talent in this division. Hopefully we overcome them all, but I'll tell you what, those teams can put together streaks as well as anybody else. We've got to stay strong."

Pirates LHP Tony Watson

"Last year it was a three-team race all the way to the end, we played the Reds in the Wild Card and then this year the Brewers get off to that hot start. They're a solid team. It's great to be in this division ... I know our guys in our clubhouse embrace it and enjoy it to go out there with three other quality teams, and to fight with them all the way to the end is a great honor. We aren't looking right now (at the standings). We will later, in September when we know it's stretch time."