Chicago Cubs: The script has been flipped on the Cardinals

2015 was the jumping off point for the Cubs

An advantage to having the worst record in baseball year in and year out is the draft picks you earn. With the second pick in the 2013 draft, the Cubs picked Kris Bryant, while they chose Kyle Schwarber with the number four pick a year later.

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Entering the 2015 season, the Cubs had a rotation that included Jake Arrieta and a newly signed Jon Lester. In addition to that, the Cubs had a line-up that incorporated Anthony Rizzo, Dexter Fowler and Kris Bryant. With a talent filled roster, the Cubs set out to lay claim to the division.

What would ensue would be beyond what many had anticipated before the season. In what was supposed to be an in-between season before more guys reached the majors, the Cubs won 97 games and earned a Wild Card birth.

First up for the Cubs was a one game playoff with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In a battle of the aces, Jake Arrieta hurled a complete game shutout to beat the Pirates.

Their victory over Pittsburgh set the Cubs up for a best of five series against the Cardinals. After the Cubs were blanked in Game 1, they rattled off three straight, knocking off the division winners.

While the Cubs would eventually be swept by the New York Mets in the NLCS, their NLDS victory over the Cardinals proved to many the balance of power in the NL Central was changing.